Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term changes in UT / LS ozone between the late 1970 s and the 1990 s deduced from the GASP and MOZAIC aircraft programs and from ozonesondes C

Long-term changes in UT/LS ozone between the late 1970s and the 1990s deduced from the GASP and MOZAIC aircraft programs and from ozonesondes C. Schnadt Poberaj, J. Staehelin, D. Brunner, V. Thouret, H. De Backer, and R. Stübi Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Switzerland Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Empa, Dübendorf, Switzerland Laboratoire d’Aérologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (KMI-IRM), Brussels, Belgium Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, Aerological Station, Payerne, Switzerland
She's Electric - The Influence of Body Proportions on Perceived Gender of Robots across Cultures

The assignment of gender to robots is a debatable topic. Subtle aspects related to gender, in a robot’s appearance, may create biased expectations of the robot’s abilities and influence user acceptance. The present research is a cross-cultural study involving more than 150 participants to investigate the perception of gender in robot design by manipulating body proportions. We are focusing specifically on the contrast between two extremely different cultures: Peruvian and Japanese. From the survey based on stimuli varying in the proportion between chest, waist, and hips, the results indicate the importance of chest-to-hip ratio and waist-to-hip ratio in the attribution of gender to robots.
TEMPO DEPENDENCE OF MELODIC SHAPES IN HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL MUSIC

The melodic progression in raga performances in Hindustani music comprises recurrence of the raga characteristic phrases. The precise phrase intonation is so crucial that it acts as a major cue to raga identification by listeners and is well accepted as the foundational unit of a raga in the pedagogical tradition as well. Though the melodic motifs often hold unique canonical forms, phrases do show pitch and temporal variability across instances. We focus on finding the effect of tempo alteration on the temporal characteristics of the melodic shapes. We validate our hypothesis that there is a non-linearity in the phrase elongation/ compression across a range of tempi. We also study the consequence of phrase level modifications on the transitory segments like a meend. This provides an interesting insight on the source of improvisation on a melodic motif while introducing an avenue for evaluation of music scholars' performance in a MIR scenario. KeywordsRaga characteristic phrase, Tempo, Sub-segments of a phrase.
Matrix Completion Based Localization in the Internet of Things Network

In order to make a proper reaction to the collected information from internet of things (IoT) devices, location information of things should be available at the data center. One challenge for the massive IoT networks is to identify the location map of whole sensor nodes from partially observed distance information. In this paper, we propose a matrix completion based localization algorithm to reconstruct the location map of sensors using partially observed distance information. From the numerical experiments, we show that the proposed method based on the modified conjugate gradient is effective in recovering the Euclidean distance matrix.
Erfassung und Behandlung von Jugendlichen mit einer Identitätsstörung Inauguraldissertation

Deutsch) Die Identitätskonsolidierung ist eine zentrale Entwicklungsaufgabe in der Adoleszenz. Der erfolgreiche Umgang mit Identitätskrisen erlaubt die Positionierung der eigenen Person im sozialen Kontext, den Aufbau von befriedigenden Beziehungen und das Verfolgen von selbstgewählten Lebenszielen. Im Gegensatz dazu fehlt bei einer Identitätsdiffusion die Integration von Konzepten zur eigenen Person und zu bedeutsamen Mitmenschen, was zu einer pathologischen Persönlichkeitsstruktur beitragen kann. Persönlichkeitsstörungen können als überdauernde Beeinträchtigungen von intraund interpersonellen Funktionsfähigkeiten gesehen werden, welche häufig in der Kindheit und Jugend erstmals in Erscheinung treten. Dabei wird eine klinisch auffällige Identitätsentwicklung als zentral für das ätiologische und pathogenetische Verständnis von Persönlichkeitsstörungen betrachtet. Die Forschungssektion der fünften Revision des „Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders“ misst dem Konstrukt „Identität“ als Diagnosekriterium für Persönlichkeitsstörungen eine zentrale Bedeutung zu. Der Fragebogen “Assessment of Identity Development in Adolescence” ist ein reliables und valides Inventar zur dimensionalen Erfassung von gesunder und klinisch auffälliger Identität im Jugendalter. Dieses Selbstbeurteilungsverfahren kann zur Indikation und Evaluation von Therapieverfahren eingesetzt werden, welche auf Identität im therapeutischen Prozess fokussieren. Die Therapiemethode “Adolescent Identity Treatment” konzentriert sich auf die pathologische Identitätsentwicklung im Jugendalter und verbindet auf einem objektbeziehungstheoretischen Hintergrund Elemente der übertragungsfokussierten Therapie mit verhaltenstherapeutischen und systemischen Therapieansätzen.
Inferring speaker identity from articulatory motion during speech

Speaker characteristics in speech are unique mainly because of vocal tract morphology and learned habits of articulation. In this work, we try to quantify the amount of speaker identity information encoded in articulation alone in a text independent manner. We approach this problem as a speaker identification task. For experiments, we recorded movements of the articulators namely, tongue, jaw and lips, with simultaneous speech using AG501 from 31 subjects. Experiments are performed using long short term memory (LSTM), convolution neural networks (CNN), and CNN-LSTM as classifiers. Among these, the CNN-LSTM classifier using articulatory features yields the best performance of 98.75% accuracy. Experiments are also performed to assess classifier performance using individual articulators, where the best performance of 86.94% is obtained using jaw followed by 84.89% using upper lip. Analysis on convolution filters from the first layer of CNN shows an emphasis on the frequency regions around ∼12-16 Hz for all the articulators. Performance results and analysis on learned filters of CNN-LSTM indicates that articulatory motion indeed capture the speaker specific information.
Noninvasive Fibrosis Scores as Prognostic Markers for Varices Needing Treatment in Advanced Compensated Liver Cirrhosis

Background/purpose: Noninvasive assessment of esophageal varices (EVs), their size and bleeding stigmata may reduce endoscopic burden, cost and drawbacks. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of noninvasive fibrosis scores (AAR, APRI, FIB-4, King and VITRO scores) in predicting the presence of EVs and high risk varices needing treatment (VNT) in HCV-related cirrhosis of Egyptian patients. Methods: This prospective study included 154 HCV-related advanced compensated cirrhotic patients with no history of bleeding who underwent screening endoscopy for EVs. AAR, APRI, FIB-4, King and VITRO scores were assessed. Results: Esophageal varices were found in 120 patients (77.9%) and VNT in 92 patients (59.7%). Apart from AAR, all scores demonstrated statistically significant correlations with the presence and the size of EVs. Using area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), these scores were good predictors for the presence of EVs and VNT, where VITRO score had the highest AUC (0.920 and 0.900) and accuracy (97.1% and 87%), sensitivity (75, 82.6%), specificity (100, 93.5%), PPV (100, 95%) and NPV (53.2, 78.4%) with cutoffs >1.3 and >1.8 respectively. Conclusion: Noninvasive fibrosis scores can predict the presence of EVs and VNT. VITRO score was the best predictor with higher accuracy for clinical applicability than studied scores.
Digital Video Stabilization with Inertial Fusion

As computing power becomes more and more available, robotic systems are moving away from active sensors for environmental awareness and transitioning into passive vision sensors. With the advent of teleoperation and real-time video tracking of dynamic environments, the need to stabilize video onboard mobile robots has become more prevalent. This thesis presents a digital stabilization method that incorporates inertial fusion with a Kalman filter. The camera motion is derived visually by tracking SIFT features in the video feed and fitting them to an affine model. The digital motion is fused with a 3 axis rotational motion measured by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) rigidly attached to the camera. The video is stabilized by digitally manipulating the image plane opposite of the unwanted motion.
Ensemble of Convolutional Neural Networks for Weakly-supervised Sound Event Detection Using Multiple Scale Input

In this paper, we propose to use an ensemble of convolutional neural networks to detect audio events in the automotive environment. Each of the networks is based on various lengths of analysis windows for multiple input scaling. Experiments showed that the structures with tagging different scales are complementary to each other on, i) detecting and ii) localizing sound events, therefore, an effective ensemble results in performance improvements for both tasks. The proposed model, an ensemble of the structures, achieved 0.4762 in the event-based F1-score and 0.7167 in the segment-based error rate on DCASE 2017 in development set. And it achieved 0.536 in the event-based F1-score and 0.66 in the segment-based error rate in evaluation set. Our model accomplished the 2nd place on audio tagging and the 1st place on sound event detection.
Forage herbs improve mineral composition of grassland herbage

Provision of an adequate mineral supply in the diets of ruminants fed mainly on grassland herbage can present a challenge if mineral concentrations are suboptimal for animal nutrition. Forage herbs may be included in grassland seed mixtures to improve herbage mineral content, although there is limited information about mineral concentrations in forage herbs. To determine whether herbs have greater macro- and micromineral concentrations than forage legumes and grasses, we conducted a 2-year experiment on a loamy-sand site in Denmark sown with a multi-species mixture comprised of three functional groups (grasses, legumes and herbs). Herb species included chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.), caraway (Carum carvi L.) and salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor L.). We also investigated the effect of slurry application on the macro- and micromineral concentration of grasses, legumes and herbs. In general, herbs had greater concentrations of the macrominerals P, Mg, K and S and the microminerals Zn and B than grasses and legumes. Slurry application indirectly decreased Ca, S, Cu and B concentrations of total herbage because of an increase in the proportion of mineral-poor grasses. Our study indicates that including herbs in forage mixtures is an effective way of increasing mineral concentrations in herbage.
Applying marine protected area design models in large estuarine systems

Several types of design models are currently being used to develop marine protected areas (MPAs) for conservation of coastal and pelagic ecosystems. However, few studies have applied these models in large estuaries which have unique characteristics that need to be considered in MPA design, including strong physical, chemical and biological gradients and significant human impacts. We explored how one design model, MARXAN, can be applied to estuarine systems by developing MPA design scenarios for Long Island Sound, an estuary in the northeastern USA. Using sedimentary texture as a proxy for habitats, we modeled and tested several scenarios where conservation goals differed with respect to location and spatial scale but included 10 to 20% representation of target habitats and spatially contiguous MPAs. When the entire estuary was modeled, potentially critical locations were not included in the solutions. Dividing the estuary into regions to account for spatial gradients proved a better approach. Final MPA solutions were tested for effectiveness by comparing benthic species richness and community composition inside and outside solutions. Solutions in the eastern region of Long Island Sound generally contained higher species richness, likely due to the inclusion of highly heterogeneous portions of the sea floor within most solutions, but community com- position varied. In contrast, solutions in the western/central region of the estuary usually had lower species richness but similar community composition. We also made preliminary assessments of how human activities, including dredge disposal, resource extraction and sediment pollution, might affect MPA design in estuaries. Our results illustrate potential conflicts that may arise due to the geographic location of best MPA candidate areas in estuarine regions with environmental impacts and human activities. Several tradeoffs will likely affect MPA design and selection in large estuarine systems, and MPA design models may prove useful in focusing these efforts.
An accuracy test of a Cartesian grid method for steady flow in complex geometries

We describe a. method to solve the inviscid compressible Euler equations using non-body-fitted Cartesian grids. We briefly survey the geometric procedures needed for the "grid generation" in this approach and show some Cartesian grids for three dimensional configurations. The major source of error in these methods is at the irregular boundary cells. This has motivated us to study various improvements in the numerical scheme (a Godunov method) on a model problem with smooth flow in two spa.ce dimensions.
Faculty perceptions of the effects of collective bargaining agreements on their professional roles: The New England public higher education experience

This study, a combination of quantitative and artifact analysis, examined how New England public college and university faculty perceived their professional concerns were affected by working under a collective bargaining agreement. The professional concerns, derived from the pertinent literature, included the following: the ability of the faculty to effectively influence who joined the faculty ranks; their powers to determine the curriculum, with their related instructional practices/delivery systems, and the setting of degree requirements; determining their teaching, scholarship, and service requirements; assuring the exercise of academic freedom, and reasonable shared governance. Coupled with these professional concerns were three research questions that also were the study's focus: (1) Does collective bargaining facilitate or inhibit faculty professional autonomy? (2) Is it important to their sense of professionalism? (3) Do collective bargaining agreements support professional autonomy? For the survey phase, 650 faculty, drawn from thirteen four-year public institutions within New England, were surveyed to ascertain their perceptions on how their contracts affected their professional concerns. For the artifact phase, the collective bargaining contracts of the thirteen institutions were examined to see if the contracts' language might impinge on the professional concerns of the faculty. The 141 total surveys received after an initial and a follow-up mailing, were analyzed using factor analysis and ANOVAs. The results showed that the respondents perceived that their professional concerns were adequately addressed by their collective bargaining agreements. Also faculty felt that their shared governance role was more secure. There were differences among the survey responses based on union membership with regard to the agreements working as a balance on administrative powers, with significant differences found between those not in a union, and members of AAUP, AFT, and NEA. However, what faculty sought in their contracts to ensure a faculty role in shared governance was in fact very limited in the actual contracts' language. Information gained from this study may inform the collective bargaining process for both sides of the table and lend an understanding of the impact of these agreements upon their respective institutions.
Exfoliated Bilayer Graphene as an Alternative to Transparent and Conductive Film

High quality, bi-layer graphene is fabricated using mechanical exfoliation of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite. The bi-layer graphene on the glass substrate is characterized using scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, microRaman spectroscopy and UV-vis spectrophotometer. The effects of substrate cleaning on the quality of graphene are investigated. From the structural and optical characterizations, it is confirmed that, the exfoliated bi-layer graphene can be useful for transparent and conductive film application in thin film solar cells.
Deep CO 2 soil inhalation / exhalation induced by synoptic pressure changes and atmospheric tides in a carbonated semiarid steppe

Knowledge of all the mechanisms and processes involved in soil CO 2 emissions is essential to close the global carbon cycle. Apart from molecular diffusion, the main physical component of such CO 2 exchange is soil ventilation. Advective CO 2 transport, through soil or snow, has been correlated with the wind speed, friction velocity or pressure ( p ). Here we examine variations in subterranean CO 2 molar fractions (χ c ) over two years within a vertical profile (1.5 m) in a semiarid ecosystem, as influenced by short-timescale p changes. Analyses to determine the factors involved in the variations in subterranean χ c were differentiated between the growing period and the dry period. In both periods it was found that variations in deep χ c (0.5–1.5 m) were due predominantly to static p variations and not to wind or biological influences. Within a few hours, the deep χ c can vary by fourfold, showing a pattern with two cycles per day, due to p oscillations caused by atmospheric tides. By contrast, shallow χ c (0.15 m) generally has one cycle per day as influenced by biological factors like soil water content and temperature in both periods, while the wind was an important factor in shallow χ c variations only during the dry period. Evidence of emissions was registered in the atmospheric boundary layer by eddy covariance during synoptic pressure changes when subterranean CO 2 was released; days with rising barometric pressure – when air accumulated belowground, including soil-respired CO 2 – showed greater ecosystem uptake than days with falling pressure. Future assessments of the net ecosystem carbon balance should not rely exclusively on Fick's law to calculate soil CO 2 effluxes from profile data.
Interactive comment on “ Using aircraft measurements to determine the refractive index of Saharan dust during the DODO experiments ” by C . L

1a) We would like to clarify and stress that chemical composition results from DODO were indeed used in Section 2.3. The elemental composition of dust samples collected during DODO was obtained using X-ray fluorescence as described in Formenti et al. (2008). The iron oxide content was determined using the CDB extraction technique as described in Formenti et al. (2008) and Lafon et al. (2004). Using the Lafon et al. (2006) approximation, the proportions of relevant minerals were calculated based on the measured elemental concentrations and the iron oxide content. Therefore the
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Molecule-Surface Binding Energies in Site Specific Graphene Bilayer Nanopores: A Puzzle-ene Force Field Calculation

Two-dimensional molecular recognition studies of the six polyaromatic hydro-carbons that can be formed from the combination of four benzene rings: tetracene, pyrene, 1,2-benzanthracene, 3,4-benzphenanthrene, triphenylene, and chrysene were explored for each of these six molecules interacting with six different graphene layer site-specific nanopores. Computational studies were done for the gas phase adsorption on single layer graphene, bilayer graphene, and six molecule-specific graphene bilayer nanopores. Molecular mechanics MM2 parameters have been shown previously to provide good comparisons to experimental adsorption energies for aromatic hydrocarbons adsorption on graphitic surfaces. These binding energies are dominated by van der Waals forces. Just as a jigsaw puzzle hole can accommodate only a specific piece, two-dimensional shape specific sites were created in the top layer of a graphene bilayer to match each one of the six adsorbate molecules. The purpose of this study was to examine the molecular recognition possibilities of site specific adsorption in these simple two-dimensional nanopores based on dispersion forces and molecular shape. For example, triphenylene has a calculated surface binding energy of 24.5 kcal/mol on the graphene bilayer and 30.2 kcal/mol in its own site specific pore. The interaction energy of this molecule in the other five sites ranged from 17.6 to 23.8 kcal/mol. All the molecules tetracene, pyrene, 1,2-benzanthracene, triphenylene and chrysene had higher binding energies in their matched molecule bilayer sites than on either single or double layer graphene. In addition, each one of these five molecules had a stronger binding in their own shape specific (puzzle-ene) site than any of the other molecular sites. The results suggest that two-dimensional molecular recognition based on shape specific pores may allow selectivity useful for applications such as sensors, separations, nanofabrication, or information storage.
3D Shape Reconstruction of 3D Printed Transparent Microscopic Objects from Multiple Photographic Images Using Ultraviolet Illumination

We propose and demonstrate a simple, low-cost, three-dimensional (3D) shape acquisition method for transparent 3D printed microscopic objects. Our method uses ultraviolet (UV) illumination to obtain high-contrast silhouette images of transparent 3D printed polymer objects. Multiple silhouette images taken from different viewpoints make it possible to reconstruct the 3D shape of this transparent object. A 3D shape acquisition system consisting of a UV light-emitting diode, charge-coupled device camera and a rotation stage was constructed and used to successfully reconstruct the 3D shape of a transparent bunny model produced using micro-stereolithography. In addition, 3D printed pillar array models, with different diameters on the order of several hundred micrometers, were reconstructed. This method will be a promising tool for the 3D shape reconstruction of transparent 3D objects on both the micro- and macro-scale by changing the imaging lens.
CNN BASED SYSTEM FOR ACOUSTIC SCENE CLASSIFICATION Technical Report

Convolution neural networks (CNNs) have achieved great successes in many machine learning tasks such as classifying visual objects or various audio sounds. In this report, we describe our system implementation for acoustic scene classification task of DCASE 2018 based on CNN. The classification accuracies of the proposed system are 72.4% and 75.5% on development and leaderboard datasets, respectively.