Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IMPROVING AUTOMATIC SPEECH TRANSCRIPTION FOR MULTIMEDIA CONTENT

Automatic Speech Recognition systems are increasingly being used in multimedia retrieval applications, where speech recognition is used to aid the creation of high-quality transcripts for data such as multimedia meeting recordings, lectures and presentations, video and audio libraries, and broadcast news. These transcripts are then used for indexing and retrieval of the multimedia content over the Internet. Automatic transcription in these domains is however a challenging task for a number of reasons, including unfavourable recording conditions, high frequency of out-of-vocabulary words and multiplicity of speakers and accents. Furthermore, with the increasing volume of multimedia data, particularly video and speech, being recorded, stored, and shared over the Internet, full manual correction of transcribed speech is impractical. Hybrid transcription systems are therefore needed to allow combining automatic transcriptions for the most part, and manual corrections to some extent, in generating accurate transcription of multimedia content. This paper presents a graphical system which limits human involvement to correcting some, but not all, transcription errors. These corrections can then be used to dynamically update the system vocabulary, thus helping the system to remove related transcription errors
Increased expression in vivo and in vitro of foreign genes directed by A-type inclusion body hybrid promoters in recombinant vaccinia viruses

We constructed A-type inclusion body (ATI) hybrid promoters, that is, late ATI promoters followed by tandemly repeated early regions of the promoter for the 7.5-kDa protein (the 7.5-kDa promoter). The repetition of the whole early promoter sequence of the 7.5-kDa gene, including the upstream consensus sequence and initiation region, efficiently increased the early expression of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene in recombinant vaccinia virus. Recombinant vaccinia virus could express influenza virus hemagglutinin via the hybrid promoter more efficiently, induced higher levels of neutralizing antibody and cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and consequently protected mice more efficiently against challenge with influenza virus than did recombinant vaccinia virus containing the widely used 7.5-kDa promoter.
From Urban to Rural: Lessons for Microfinance from Argentina

The recent success of microfinance for the urban self‐employed contrasts with decades of failure on the part of public development banks for small farmers. This article describes the ways in which rural microfinance organisations have tried to adapt the lessons of urban microfinance to manage the risks and control the costs of the supply of financial services in rural areas. It then asks whether the lessons of urban microfinance are likely to apply in the poorest rural areas of Argentina. The article concludes that microfinance is unlikely to improve access to small loans and small deposits for many of the rural poor in Argentina; distances are too great, farmers too specialised, and wages too high. Improved access depends not on targeting loans by government decree but on strengthening institutions that support financial markets.
A new image compression via adaptive wavelet transform

The conventional two-dimensional wavelet transform is performed through one-dimensional filtering in horizontal and vertical directions, which fails to provide an effective representation for directional features, while natural images are rich in texture and directional features. The wavelet can not achieve ideal sparse representation for natural images, which has some defects in image compression. In this paper, we propose a new adaptive DWT via image texture. Partitioning the image based on local content, predicting the texture direction of local image, keeping the orthogonal property, applying directional wavelet filtering, we achieve our method by lifting structure with in-place operation. In order to protect the texture information, we get half-pixel by interpolating along predicted direction. The method can be used to construct a new image coder with the EBCOT that was adopted in JPEG2000, coding the coefficients and directional information respectively. The result of our method is more effective for representation of natural images. The experiments of compression show that the numerical results and visual effect are improved obviously by our method compared with that of conventional wavelet transform.
Learning Bayesian Network Structures from Small Datasets using Simulated Annealing and Bayesian Score

This paper proposes a new technique for learning the structure of Bayesian networks from data. The algorithm is based on the search and score approach. Simulated annealing is used as search method, and Bayesian score as a measure of goodness. This algorithm is not new; however, we are proposing two new important steps. First, we exploit a classical resampling strategy to restrict the selection of parents of a given node during the search phase. This step avoids significant computation in similar approaches. Second, a refining step to prune erroneously added arcs is considered at the end phase of the algorithm. These ideas were tested with the well-known ALARM network. We found an improvement for small datasets on the number of correct and wrong arcs discovered.
Prophylaxis against organophosphate poisoning by sustained release of scopolamine and physostigmine

Protection efficacy of continuous prophylactic administration of physostigmine and scopolamine against sarin‐induced toxicity was evaluated previously in guinea pigs. The present study in large animals used Beagle dogs, that serve as an animal model with cholinergic sensitivity similar to that of humans. Pretreatment with physostigmine salicylate and scopolamine hydrochloride at dose rates of 2.5 and 1 µg kg−1 h−1, respectively, was administered via Alzet mini‐osmotic pumps. At the time of exposure, the physostigmine salicylate concentration in plasma was 0.7 ng ml−1 and the scopolamine hydrochloride concentration was ca. 0.2 ng ml−1, both of which are levels known to be well tolerated in humans. Whole‐blood cholinesterase inhibition was 15–20%. This regimen conferred full protection against 2.5 × LD50 i.v. of sarin. Albeit the high‐dose exposure, cholinergic toxicity symptoms were mild with no convulsions. About 11–14 min following poisoning the treated animals started to walk and 15–20 min following exposure full recovery was observed and the dogs behaved normally. With higher dose rates of physostigmine salicylate and scopolamine hydrochloride, at plasma concentrations of 2.1 and 0.6 ng ml−1, respectively, treated dogs regained normal posture 6–10 min after exposure. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Traveling performance estimation for planetary rovers over slope

One of the most important requirements imposed on planetary rovers is the ability to minimize slippage while climbing slopes covered with loose soil. Therefore, at the design stage of the rovers, it is necessary to evaluate the traveling performance of their locomotion mechanisms over a slope. However, to conduct traveling tests over slopes, the sandbox in which the tests are conducted must be tilted; it is difficult and even dangerous to make a steep slope because of the heavy weight of the sandbox. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a new method for estimating the traveling performance of a wheeled rover over a slope. In this method, we estimate the slip ratio for different slope angles on the basis of traction tests over a flat terrain. To verify the proposed method, we conducted slope-climbing tests and traction tests in a sandbox using a two-wheeled rover with various types of wheels. Furthermore, we compared the slip ratios estimated from the slope-climbing tests with those estimated from the traction tests. From these comparisons, we concluded that the proposed method can accurately estimate the traveling performance of a planetary rover over a slope.
A power-efficient dual-tank FSK demodulator for passive wireless microsystems

A dual-tank FSK demodulator to boost the amplitude of the received signal at FSK carrier frequencies subsequently power conversion efficiency is presented. A fast energy depletion technique is proposed to increase the data rate. In addition, a full-wave quadruple voltage multiplier with low substrate leakage currents is proposed to produce dual-polarity supply voltages required for draining the resonant tanks. Data are recovered by comparing output voltages of the resonant tanks with a preset reference voltage at the beginning of each FSK interval. The FSK demodulator has been designed in IBM 0.13-µm 1.2-V CMOS process. Simulation results show that the power conversion efficiency of the proposed dual-tank voltage multiplier is 30 times that of a corresponding single-tank voltage multiplier while the substrate leakage current of the proposed voltage multiplier is nearly 1000 times smaller than that of conventional voltage multipliers. The proposed FSK demodulator can transmit at 3 Mbps with 5/10-MHz FSK carriers while consuming only a few tens of µW.
OC29 is preferentially expressed in the presumptive sensory organ region of the otocyst

The mammalian inner ear derives from the otocyst. Molecular mechanisms underlying inner ear development are largely unknown. We have isolated a secreted molecule, OC29, from a rat otocyst cDNA library by the signal sequence trap method. OC29 was revealed to be a rat homologue of human WFIKKN. OC29 is preferentially expressed in the developing inner ear and the dorsal neural tube. In the inner ear, the expression of OC29 is first detectable at embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5), broadly in the dorsolateral region of the otocyst, which gives rise to the vestibular organ. At E12.5, the expression of OC29 becomes restricted to the presumptive sensory region, mainly to the BMP4‐positive presumptive cristae, and expression becomes reduced at later stages. These results suggest that OC29 may have a role in the early development of the inner ear sensory organ, particularly in the formation of the cristae of the semicircular canals. Developmental Dynamics 231:766–774, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Characterizing the correlation between video types and user quality of experience in the large-scale internet video service

The video service is one of the most important Internet services, and user quality of experience (QoE) represents the degree of recognition of the video service. Therefore, research on QoE is significant in improving the quality of the video service. Considering the influence of different factors on QoE, this paper studies the effect of video content types on QoE. In this article, we divide videos into seven types: entertainment, cartoon, sport, news, music, teleplay, specialty. Besides, we utilize user engagement to measure QoE. The study shows that the correlation which is mainly reflected in following aspects between video types and QoE is substantial. Firstly, video types can impact QoE directly. For example, the proportion of high engagement of cartoon is higher than other videos by 30%. Secondly, video types affect the distribution of the key performance indicators (KPIs). Lastly, video types influence the correlation between user engagement and KPI.
Modified MPPT strategy applied in single-stage grid-connected photovoltaic system

Single-stage grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system has advantages such as simple topology, low cost, etc. However, since this kind of system has only one stage of power conversion, all the control objectives need to be considered simultaneously, such as maximum power point tracking (MPPT), synchronization with the utility voltage and harmonics reduction for output current, so that the complexity of control scheme is much increased. This paper presents a modified MPPT strategy, which can remarkably improve the stability of the single-stage grid-connected PV system during rapidly changing process of light intensity, besides realizing the control objectives above. Comparing it with traditional constant-step MPPT strategy, this paper illustrates the improvement of the novel strategy based on PSIM simulation platform. A 300 Wp grid-connected PV system is also established in laboratory to verify the stability of this modified MPPT strategy, in which DSP (TMS320F2407) is employed to implement the proposed MPPT controller. Simulation and experimental results show the high stability and high efficiency of this modified strategy applied in single-stage grid-connected PV system
Characterizing Phospholamban to Sarco(endo)plasmic Reticulum Ca2+-ATPase 2a (SERCA2a) Protein Binding Interactions in Human Cardiac Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Vesicles Using Chemical Cross-linking*

Background: The mechanism of PLB inhibition of SERCA2a activity remains unresolved. Results: Cross-linking Lys27 of PLB to SERCA2a in human SR vesicles is conformationally dependent and correlates closely with enzyme inhibition. Conclusion: PLB stabilizes the E2·ATP state, thereby blocking formation of E1. Significance: Mutually exclusive binding of PLB and Ca2+ regulates SERCA2a activity in normal and failed human myocardium. Chemical cross-linking was used to study protein binding interactions between native phospholamban (PLB) and SERCA2a in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) vesicles prepared from normal and failed human hearts. Lys27 of PLB was cross-linked to the Ca2+ pump at the cytoplasmic extension of M4 (at or near Lys328) with the homobifunctional cross-linker, disuccinimidyl glutarate (7.7 Å). Cross-linking was augmented by ATP but abolished by Ca2+ or thapsigargin, confirming in native SR vesicles that PLB binds preferentially to E2 (low Ca2+ affinity conformation of the Ca2+-ATPase) stabilized by ATP. To assess the functional effects of PLB binding on SERCA2a activity, the anti-PLB antibody, 2D12, was used to disrupt the physical interactions between PLB and SERCA2a in SR vesicles. We observed a tight correlation between 2D12-induced inhibition of PLB cross-linking to SERCA2a and 2D12 stimulation of Ca2+-ATPase activity and Ca2+ transport. The results suggest that the inhibitory effect of PLB on Ca2+-ATPase activity in SR vesicles results from mutually exclusive binding of PLB and Ca2+ to the Ca2+ pump, requiring PLB dissociation for catalytic activation. Importantly, the same result was obtained with SR vesicles prepared from normal and failed human hearts; therefore, we conclude that PLB binding interactions with the Ca2+ pump are largely unchanged in failing myocardium.
Novel Projection Exposure System Using Gradient-Index Lens Array

A novel low-cost projection exposure system for printing rough patterns with a width of approximately 10 µm was proposed and its feasibility was verified. In the novel exposure system, a gradient-index (GRIN) lens array was used as the projection optics. The GRIN lens array projects the same-size erect image of the mask patterns onto the wafers. Therefore, arbitrary patterns on a large mask are replicated on a wafer without using a large projection lens by simply scanning the lens array across the whole mask field. Optical lithography for printing rough patterns with widths of 1–10 µm in large areas is widely applied in fabricating various micro-mechanical components. Since the production volumes are usually small, however, expensive optical lithography systems are not easily adopted for production. The new exposure system will provide new advantages for such lithography applications. When the GRIN lens array was fixed steady, line-and-space (L&S) patterns with a line width of 20 µm were printed in spite of the guaranteed low resolution specification of approximately 80 µm. In addition, up to 2.5 µm L&S patterns were locally resolved. Localized high resolution and the uneven resolution performance mainly depend on the periodical light intensity distribution corresponding to the lens array structure. This intensity distribution was greatly improved by scanning the lens array in the direction of the lens array, and averaging the intensity irregularity. By improving the light intensity distribution to be homogeneous, 10 µm L&S patterns were uniformly printed in the whole exposure area.
Model Reference Sliding Mode Control of Small Helicopter X.R.B based on Vision

This paper presents autonomous control for indoor small helicopter X.R. B. In case of natural disaster like earthquake, a MAV (Micro Air Vehicle) which can fly autonomously will be very effective for surveying the site and environment in dangerous area or narrow space, where human cannot access safely. In addition, it will be helpful to prevent secondary disaster. This paper describes vision based autonomous hovering control, guidance control for X.R. B by model reference sliding mode control.
ITMSQ: A software tool for N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs based isobaric tandem mass spectrometry quantification

Tandem MS (MS2) quantification using the series of N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs generated from isobaric‐labelled peptides was recently considered an accurate strategy in quantitative proteomics. However, the presence of multiplexed terminal fragment ion in MS2 spectra may reduce the efficiency of peptide identification, resulting in lower identification scores or even incorrect assignments. To address this issue, we developed a quantitative software tool, denoted isobaric tandem MS quantification (ITMSQ), to improve N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs based isobaric MS2 quantification. A spectrum splitting module was designed to separate the MS2 spectra from different samples, increasing the accuracy of both identification and quantification. ITMSQ offers a convenient interface through which parameters can be changed along with the labelling method, and the result files and all of the intermediate files can be exported. We performed an analysis of in vivo terminal amino acid labelling labelled HeLa samples and found that the numbers of quantified proteins and peptides increased by 13.64 and 27.52% after spectrum splitting, respectively. In conclusion, ITMSQ provides an accurate and reliable quantitative solutionfor N‐ and C‐terminal fragment ion pairs based isobaric MS2 quantitative methods.
Video streaming over wireless networks

A scheme that exploits the broadcast nature of the wireless communication in order to achieve multicast content delivery is presented in this paper. As opposed to broadcasting, this method enables the clients to determine on-line the delivered content, and thus preserves the advantages of an individual service. On the other hand, a multicast content delivery is much more efficient than a unicast content distribution, which must use a dedicated data channel per each and every client. This method is particularly suitable for sessions having a long time duration, for applications in which clients can subscribe to ahead of time, and for applications in which the clients receive the same information simultaneously. Examples for such applications are live video streaming, near video on demand service, gaming applications, and download requests for popular video files. A multicast content distribution increases the network service throughput in terms of the expected number of clients served simultaneously. Consequently, at highly loaded time periods it offers a reduced waiting time for content delivery.
Quantum-degenerate gases of Ytterbium atoms

Evaporative cooling of ultracold Yb atoms near the quantum-degenerate regime was experimentally studied. Three bosons of 170Yb, 172Yb, 176Yb and two fermions of 171Yb and 173Yb were evaporatively cooled in a crossed far-off resonant trap (FORT). We observed that 170Yb and 172Yb were not concentrated into the crossed region. We found that, in the cases of 176Yb atoms, atoms were concentrated well into the crossed region. The following evaporative cooling in the crossed region, however, did not work well. We performed the simultaneous trapping and sympathetic cooling in the crossed FORT by use of 172Yb-174Yb, 174Yb-176Yb, 172Yb-176Yb, and 171Yb-174Yb pairs. We observed that evaporative cooling worked well. This result shows that we succeeded in the enhancement of the atom collision rate. Especially, by use of 174Yb-176Yb mixture, we obtained cold 176Yb whose phase space density was 0.02. We observed a large atom loss, which limited the further sympathetic evaporative cooling. We also evaporatively cooled 174Yb in a 1D optical lattice. Evaporative cooling worked very well because the atoms were initially trapped at a high density. After evaporative cooling, we obtained very cold atoms, and T/TF was estimated to be 1.2.
New procedure for DNA transfection with polycation and dimethyl sulfoxide

A new procedure for DNA transfection has been developed in a system of chicken embryo fibroblast cells and cloned Rous sarcoma virus DNA by using a polycation reagent as a mediator to adsorb DNA to the cell surface and dimethyl sulfoxide as an agent to facilitate the uptake of adsorbed DNA by the cells. In this new, simple, and convenient polycation-dimethyl sulfoxide transfection, which requires no carrier DNA even with small amounts of DNA, the number of transformed cell foci induced by Rous sarcoma virus DNA was proportional to the dose of the transfecting DNA, and chicken embryo fibroblast cells were successfully transformed by v-src-containing subgenomic DNA as well.
Development of the Database for Environmental Sound Research and Application (DESRA): Design, Functionality, and Retrieval Considerations

Theoretical and applied environmental sounds research is gaining prominence but progress has been hampered by the lack of a comprehensive, high quality, accessible database of environmental sounds. An ongoing project to develop such a resource is described, which is based upon experimental evidence as to the way we listen to sounds in the world. The database will include a large number of sounds produced by different sound sources, with a thorough background for each sound file, including experimentally obtained perceptual data. In this way DESRA can contain a wide variety of acoustic, contextual, semantic, and behavioral information related to an individual sound. It will be accessible on the Internet and will be useful to researchers, engineers, sound designers, and musicians.
Test chip for inductance characterization and modeling for sub-100nm X architecture and Manhattan chip design

This paper deals with the measurement and modeling of on-chip interconnect inductance in a VLSI chip fabricated using a sub-100 nm copper (Cu) CMOS process. A test chip was designed and fabricated in a 90 nm process node, to study the inductive effects, with various inductive return paths, including substrate, co-planar structures, power grids, and random structures. S parameter measurements were made on these structures to extract wire inductance and skin effect. It was observed that the presence of CMP dummy metal fills influences the inductive behavior and skin effect of the Cu process. Inductive effects for Cu interconnects are then compared with previous studies on aluminum (Al) interconnect at 130 nm. This is followed by a discussion on the significance of inductance effects in sub-100 nm X architecture chip design.