Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON ACOUSTICS MADRID , 2-7 SEPTEMBER 2007 STUDY OF SCATTERING PANEL PAIRS IN A VIRTUALLY ANECHOIC ENVIRONMENT

In September 2006 a measurement campaign was run in Parma to study the AES recommendation document 4id-2001 on scattering panels’ diffusion uniformity characterization. As allowed in the document appendix, the experiments were run on the floor of a large industrial shed to obtain a long enough anechoic time window and to study the first reflection from the panels themselves. In these measurements two panels at the time were studied, following the recommendation that asks to maximize the surface under test, so to consider application realistic situations. Some innovations were introduced: the use of the sine-sweep technique, a sonar mutuated visualization method gave new insights to the matter and permitted to enhance the time windowing of measurement data through an automated process. The results on five types of panels are discussed together with an analysis of reflectivity data. INTRODUCTION: THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP A campaign of scattering measurements continued the first one executed on single panels in the previous month of April and discussed at the AES convention in San Francisco [1]. The AES recommendation document 4id-2001 [2] (which is now being evaluated for becoming the ISO 17497 – 2 standard) and Cox and D’Antonio’s [3, 4] previous papers on the matter were used as a reference to start the study. This time mostly couples of panels were considered, to investigate the phenomena of uniform geometric diffusivity in more realistic situations (the first campaign’s main purpose was to compare this type of analysis with a former study on single panels [5, 6] ). Experimental set-up. As stated by the recommendation document, the anechoic conditions for studying the first reflection from the panels were obtained by setting the microphone array, the source and the panel itself on the floor of a very large industrial shed which is normally used for fairs and exhibitions. This was already demonstrated valid to obtain a clean first reflection signal, not corrupted by later reflections [1]. The receiver array had a semicircular shape as requested, it had a radius of 5 meters, centred at the panels’ frontal face vertical axis base. The source was moved along a 10 meter semicircle centred as the smaller one. On the basis of the results obtained in the previous experiment, it was decided to investigate 5 source positions for each double-panel assembly (-60°,-30°, 0°, 30° 60° incidence) and 3 for each single panel (the fast acquisition method specified by the AES recommendation, which asks to use –55°, 0°, 55° of incidence). Since only 60 x 60 cm panels were considered, when the analysis took two panels at the time it created a surface roughly 120 cm wide per 60 cm high. Figure 1a shows the measurement setup with a panel under test (Type Galav2), 0° sound incidence, figure 1b shows two panels (Type Galav1)in one of the two possible configurations (the panels are asymmetrical and two configurations had to be studied).
Grammar and Meaning: Analysing the Topology of Diachronic Word Embeddings

The paper showcases the application of word embeddings to change in language use in the domain of science, focusing on the Late Modern English period (17-19th century). Historically, this is the period in which many registers of English developed, including the language of science. Our overarching interest is the linguistic development of scientific writing to a distinctive (group of) register(s). A register is marked not only by the choice of lexical words (discourse domain) but crucially by grammatical choices which indicate style. The focus of the paper is on the latter, tracing words with primarily grammatical functions (function words and some selected, poly-functional word forms) diachronically. To this end, we combine diachronic word embeddings with appropriate visualization and exploratory techniques such as clustering and relative entropy for meaningful aggregation of data and diachronic comparison.
Using Participatory Methods to Create a Logic Model for Healthiest Babies Possible

Healthiest Babies Possible (HBP) is a perinatal nutrition program that supports women facing challenging life circumstances in Vancouver and Richmond. The program has existed since 1976 and has undergone multiple changes to its service delivery model. HBP is now embarking on an evaluation that will be used for quality improvement and to identify best practices that can be shared with other service agencies. Stakeholder engagement and participatory methods have led to successful evaluation plans in similar programs. This document focuses on engaging with an Evaluation Stakeholder Workgroup (ESW) consisting of partners, HBP staff, patient advisors, leadership and funders, to create a program logic model. The program logic model is intended to form the basis of a future evaluation plan.
Winter Wheat Vegetation Indices Calculated from Combinations of Seven Spectral Bands 255

Spectral reflectance data were obtained for winter wheat over a full growing season. Four irrigation treatments, applied to six genotypes, provided a variety of crop growth conditions. Leaf area index, green ground cover, total wet and total dry phytomass, and leaf phytomass measurements were taken monthly during the winter and biweekly during the spring. Reflectance measurements were made with a radiometer having three visible, two near-IR and two mid-IR bands. Vegetation indices, calculated from various band combinations, were linearly related to the five plant parameters. Of the 1240 vegetation indices formed, ratio indices had the higher (0.79-0.86) coefficients of determination (r 2) than N-space greenness (0.61-0.81) when related to the plant parameters. The commonly used IR/red ratio produced considerably lower r 2 values than many of the other ratio indices. The mid-IR bands appeared more frequently in the ratio indices than in the greenness indices. The results show the relative merits of the seven bands, when combined into vegetation indices, to estimate various plant parameters.
Pedaling Forces Normalized to Body Weight in cyclists with a Unilateral Transtibial Amputation

Persons with lower limb amputation may be on weight-bearing restrictions following amputation. Cycling provides a method for rehabilitation within a limited body weight environment. Pedal force data obtained from studies on intact cyclists and cyclists with uni-lateral trans-tibial amputation were used to calculate forces normalized to body weight on the shank or residual limb segment and then related to power output. Linear regression was used to develop models describing this relationship. Results show that patients operating within power outputs typical in rehabilitation will experience compressive forces below 30% body weight. Therefore, we conclude that cycling may be safely utilized as a rehabilitation modality for patients on weight-bearing restrictions.
Joint Replenish m ent Policy in Multi-Product Inventory Syste m Using Branching Deep Q-Network with Reward Allocation

This study proposes a reinforcement learning approach to find the near-optimal dynamic ordering policy for a multi-product inventory system with non-stationary demands. The distinguishing feature of multi-product inventory systems is the need to take into account the coordination among products with the aim of total cost reduction. The Markov decision process formulation has been used to obtain an optimal policy. However, the curse of dimensionality has made it intractable for a large number of products. For more products, heuristic algorithms have been proposed on the assumption of a stationary demand in literature. In this study, we propose an extended Qlearning agent with function approximation, called the branching deep Q-network (DQN) with reward allocation based on the branching double DQN. Our numerical experiments show that the proposed agent learns the coordinated order policy without any knowledge of other products’ decisions and outperforms non-coordinated forecast-based economic order policy.
PLONK: Permutations over Lagrange-bases for Oecumenical Noninteractive arguments of Knowledge

zk-SNARK constructions that utilize an updatable universal structured reference string remove one of the main obstacles in deploying zk-SNARKs[GKM + ]. The important work of Maller et al. [MBKM19] presented Sonic - the first potentially practical zk-SNARK with fully succinct verification for general arithmetic circuits with such an SRS. However, the version of Sonic enabling fully succinct verification still requires relatively high proof construction overheads. We present a universal SNARK construction with fully succinct verification, and significantly lower prover running time (roughly 7.5-20 times fewer group exponentiations than [MBKM19] in the fully succinct verifier mode depending on circuit structure). Similarly to [MBKM19] we rely on a permutation argument based on Bayer and Groth [BG12]. However, we focus on “Evaluations on a subgroup rather than coefficients of monomials”; which enables simplifying both the permutation argument and the arithmetization step.
Therapeutic Use of Music, Dance, and Rhythmic Auditory Cueing for Patients with Huntington’s Disease: A Systematic Review

Background: Studies have assessed the therapeutic effect of music, dance, and rhythmic auditory cueing for patients with Huntington’s disease (HD). However, the synthesis of evidence in support of their positive impact on symptoms is lacking. Objective: We conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate the potential benefits of music, dance, and rhythm on the cognitive, psychiatric and motor function in patients with HD. Methods: Two- and three-keyword searches and a manual search identified medical literature published from 1999 through 2019. We considered literature that assessed outcomes of art-based rehabilitation programs or individual modalities for persons with early, middle, or advanced HD. Structured analysis was conducted using data entry tables with categories for patient health status, art methods, and outcomes. Results: Seven articles and six abstracts met eligibility criteria, of which nine evaluated art-based rehabilitation programs. Studies mainly assessed cognitive, psychiatric, and motor functions through music, dance, or rhythm modalities. Although results were conflicting, in summary improvements to motor function were dependent on disease severity and more responsive to art therapy programs than rhythm-motor synchronization. Benefits to global cognition that resulted from rhythmic training correlated with microstructural changes. Qualitative data verified a positive impact on language production, chorea, behavior, and quality of life. Conclusions: Our review has shown a potential benefit of music, dance, and rhythm for patients with HD, which is particularly important for a disease that has no cure. Art forms seemed to affect cognitive, psychiatric, motor, psychosocial, and neuroanatomical domains. However, evidence is preliminary, warranting further investigation to establish the foundation for this field.
Morphometric differences and fluctuating asymmetry in Melipona subnitida Ducke 1910 ( Hymenoptera : Apidae ) in different types of housing

A geometric morphometrics approach was applied to evaluate differences in forewing patterns of the Jandaira bee (Melipona subnitida Ducke). For this, we studied the presence of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in forewing shape and size of colonies kept in either rational hive boxes or natural tree trunks. We detected significant FA for wing size as well as wing shape independent of the type of housing (rational box or tree trunks), indicating the overall presence of stress during the development of the studied specimens. FA was also significant (p < 0.01) between rational boxes, possibly related to the use of various models of rational boxes used for keeping stingless bees. In addition, a Principal Component Analysis indicated morphometric variation between bee colonies kept in either rational hive boxes or in tree trunks, that may be related to the different origins of the bees: tree trunk colonies were relocated natural colonies while rational box colonies originated from multiplying other colonies. We conclude that adequate measures should be taken to reduce the amount of stress during bee handling by using standard models of rational boxes that cause the least disruption.
Relationships among Human Resources , Strategy Implementation and Performance of Small and Medium Manufacturing Firms in Thika Sub-County , Kenya

This paper explores the relationship between attention to human resource requirements during strategy implementation and performance of small and medium manufacturing firms (SME) in Thika Sub-County in Kenya. The study is underpinned in Okumu’s strategy implementation framework where staff (human Resource) is one of the component or a key variable required by the firm in maintaining superior performance and competitive edge among the rival firms. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 115 firms from the two key industrial subsectors within Thika town and its environs. Guided by the philosophy of logical positivism and for triangulation purposes, the study adopted a mixed research design which incorporated the descriptive, quantitative and qualitative designs. Pearson’s bivariate correlation analysis was used to indicate the relationship between the dependent and independent variables of the study and regression analysis was used to test hypothesis proposed in this study. The study findings indicated that there is a positive and significant relationship between attention to human resources requirements during strategy implementation process and the performance of SME manufacturing firms in Thika, Kenya. The literature of strategic management had identified three main drivers in strategy implementation that is attention to leadership styles, attention to structure and attention to human resources. This paper investigated whether attention to human resource requirements is a major driver influencing strategy implementations and performance of the manufacturing small and medium enterprises in contemporary organizations in a developing economy like Kenya. The findings in this study are in line with other scholars in strategic management literature who found a positive and a significant relationship between attention to human resource requirements and organizational performance. The study concluded that manufacturing firms interested in enhancing their performance and staying ahead of competition should endeavor to ensure that they maintain a proper balance between strategy and the human resource requirements needed to support that strategy. The manufacturing SME firm that is able to maintain a proper balance between their strategy and human resource requirements experiences superior performance and have a competitive edge among the rival firms in the industry
A flexible transceiver array employing transmission line resonators for cardiac MRI at 7 T

This PhD thesis was conducted in the frame of a bilateral project between the laboratoire d’Imagerie par Resonance Magnetique Medicale et Multi-Modalites (IR4M) at Universite Paris-Sud (Orsay, France) and the Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering (CMPBME) at the Medical University of Vienna (Vienna, Austria). The main objective of this work was to develop a flexible transceiver RF coil array for 7 T MRI. Coil arrays benefit from the high SNR of small surface coils over an extended field of view (FOV). Furthermore, array coils enable the use of parallel imaging (PI) techniques for accelerated image acquisition and pTx algorithms that can be used to produce a homogeneous transmit field which is of importance in MRI. This project targets the design, development, implementation and evaluation of a flexible RF coil array based on the transmission line resonator (TLR) principle. TLRs are inherently monolithic and self-resonant structures, i.e. there is no need for lumped element capacitors to tune the coil. 3D electromagnetic simulation (EMS) together with bench and MRI experiments were performed to evaluate the performance of the developed array in flat and bent configuration.
Impact of ITPA Genetic Polymorphisms on Anemia in Egyptian Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C during Treatment with Peg-Interferon and Ribavirin

Background: In Egypt, the prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus infection (HCV) is high (about 20%). Chronic HCV (CHC) is a slowly progressive disease complicated by liver cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation and hepatocellular carcinoma. Treatment of CHC by pegylated Interferona (IFN)/ Ribavirin (RBV) combination therapy was Standard of Care (SoC) therapy till 2014. Regimens with new Direct Acting Antiviral drugs (DAAs) have high curative rates and minimal side effects. Ribavirin is directly toxic to erythrocytes and is associated with hemolysis which is reversible and dose related. Aim of the work is to assess the role of Inosine Triphosphatase (ITPA) Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) (rs1127354) in predicting RBV-induced anemia among Egyptian patients with CHC infection. Patients and Methods: (90) nighty CHC Egyptian patients who had received standard care combination therapy with peg-IFN/RBV were enrolled in this study, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) at ITPA (rs1127354) was genotyped by real time detection polymerase chain reaction. Results: In the total 90 patients ITPase activity was normal among 81 (90%) CC; 9 (10%) patients had ITPase deficiency non CC group (6 CA +3 AA). Hb level between CC and non CC groups were highly significant different at week 4, 6, 8, 10, 12. And also from 16-24 week. Hb decline was significantly more among CC than non CC group of treatment. The RBV dose adjustment was higher in CC than non CC group. Platelets and thrombocytopenia decline was highly significant lower in CC group than non CC group from 4 th week to 24th week of treatment. Conclusion: ITPA polymorphism (rs1127354) was associated with RBV-induced anemia during peg-IFN and RBV therapy in CHC Egyptian patients.
Relaxed Wasserstein , with Applications to GANs and Distributionally Robust Optimization

Comparing probability distributions is an integral part of many modern data-driven applications, such as generative adversarial networks (GANs) and distributionally robust optimization (DRO). We propose a novel class of statistical divergences called Relaxed Wasserstein (RW) divergence, which generalizes Wasserstein divergence and is parametrized by the class of strictly convex and differentiable functions. We establish for RW divergence several probabilistic properties, many of which are crucial for the success of Wasserstein divergence. In addition, we derive theoretical results showing that the underlying convex function in RW plays an important role in variance stabilization, shedding light on the choice of appropriate convex function. We develop a version of GANs based on RW divergence and demonstrate via empirical experiments that RW-based GANs (RWGANs) lead to superior performance in image generation problems compared to existing approaches. In particular, we find that in our experiments RWGANs are fastest in generating meaningful images compared to other GANs. We also illustrate the use of RW divergence in constructing ambiguity sets for DRO problems, and the robust portfolio problem under mean-variance framework.
Role Of Scaffolding Toward Enhancing Understanding Of Low-Achieving Students (LAS) In Mathematics Learning

This article set out scaffolding as one of proper tools for heterogenous groups in class. It is particularly useful supporting low-achieving students (LAS). Low achievers have lack of not only minim abality understanding mathematics matery, but also lack of motivation to involve in practices. According to socio-constructivism by Vygotsky, scaffolding is needed to help students achieving zone of proximal development (ZPD). Additionally, scaffolding is one of the strategies used by children and novice for solving problem, finishing the tasks, or reaching a goal of learning process beyond their capability. It is northworthy for teachers developing either micro-scaffolding or macroscaffolding for exploring potential of LAS. Scaffolding can be trigger for students having mathematics problems, especially in inclusive class. Thus, this article exhibit further review how scaffolding is crucial thing to increase LAS understanding in mathematics class.
The Effect of Personal Allowance Withdrawal on Personal Pension Contributions

This paper analyses the effect on contributions to personal pensions of the UK’s decision to phase out the personal allowance for taxpayers with incomes over £100,000 per year. This policy took effect from the tax year 2010/11 and resulted in an increase in the effective marginal income tax rate from 40% to 60% for taxpayers whose personal allowances were being phased out. The analysis shows that, while personal pension contributions increased, the price elasticities of demand for pensions by the affected groups were approximately 0.33 for employees and 0.52 for the self-employed. The fact that these were less than one implies that the effected groups were reducing their net expenditure on pension contributions, perhaps in response to the reduction in their after-tax income produced by the policy.
CBNU System for SIGMORPHON 2019 Shared Task 2: a Pipeline Model

In this paper we describe our system for morphological analysis and lemmatization in context, using a transformer-based sequence to sequence model and a biaffine attention based BiLSTM model. First, a lemma is produced for a given word, and then both the lemma and the given word are used for morphological analysis. We also make use of character level word encodings and trainable encodings to improve accuracy. Overall, our system ranked fifth in lemmatization and sixth in morphological accuracy among twelve systems, and demonstrated considerable improvements over the baseline in morphological analysis.
A critical realist script for creative theorising in information systems

Abstract Research in information systems (IS) has been dominated by an epistemic script that leads to a variety of negative consequences related to the novelty, creativity, and nature of theory produced. While having matured as a field, theory and theorising in IS tend to lack diversity, struggle in balancing the role of reference theory and empirics, inadequately internalise the information technology (IT) artefact into theories developed, and lack clear relationships to what practitioners actually experience. Our premise is that critical realism (CR), based on specific ontological and epistemological foundations, affords the potential to establish alternative epistemic scripts that can enhance the theory product in IS research. We discuss the basic concepts of theory and theorising and relate these to the current state of theory developed in IS research. Next, we review the fundamental principles of CR and describe how a research script based on this philosophy of science addresses the negative consequences posed by the current dominant script. Lastly, we demonstrate the potential value of CR in terms of generating novel and substantive theory as manifest in two examples of published research that adopt the CR script.