Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expressive Devices and Perceived Musical Character in 34 Performances of Variation 7 from Bach's Goldbergvariations

Ninety-eight undergraduate music students rated thirty-four commercial sound recordings of Bach's variation 7 from the Goldberg Variations in an attempt to better understand the relationship between performance features and perceived musical character. The movement is in 6/8 and is characterised by a repeating dotted pattern. The piece is known to be played to express a variety of musical characters because of the two versions of the piece, one implying a pastorale interpretation, the other a gigue. Past literature predicted the performance of dotting to be the most important determining factor in establishing musical character in eighteenth century compositions where dotted patterns prevail. However, recent research suggests that the perception of dotting is convoluted by articulation and tempo. Using clustering techniques, five distinct and varied musical characters were evoked consistently across the performances (each cluster represented by the word bright, playful, delicate, majestic or agitated), as judged by the participants using an adjective checklist. The same participants rated the following performance features: tempo, articulation, dotting and loudness. Each of these features made statistically significant contributions in distinguishing between character clusters. However, dotting made a relatively small contribution. Regression analysis indicated that 65% of variation in judged dotting response could be explained as a linear combination of articulation and tempo. The study suggests that reducing musical character to dotting neglects the more significant contribution made by articulation, tempo and loudness.
Wages, Supervision and Sharing:An Analysis of the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey

Instrumental efficiency wage models predict an inverse relationship between wages and supervision with this relationship becoming more pronounced amongst firms that participate in some form of employee sharing. To be sure, our theoretical exposition predicts that an increase in total remuneration will elicit a larger cut in optimal monitoring in ‘sharing’ rather than ‘non sharing’ firms. In this paper, we explore these predictions empirically using the British 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey. Our results confirm an inverse relationship between supervision and pay but the trade-off is only heightened by the presence of performance related pay and employee share ownership schemes. We also find that employee share ownership and performance related pay are relatively more successful in alleviating the need to monitor, with the rate of profit sharing impacting insignificantly on the level supervision.
Nutrient enrichment and selective predation by zooplankton promote Microcystis (Cyanobacteria) bloom formation

An experiment was conducted with a natural freshwater phytoplankton community from a eutrophic pond to investigate the combined effects of phytoplankton community competitive interactions, nutrient enrichment and zooplankton on Microcystis bloom formation. The pond water initially had a very low concentration of Microcystis, but the total phytoplankton biomass as chlorophyll a reached ∼10 μg L -1 in summer. The pond water was incubated outdoors at natural temperature and light with a 2 x 2 factorial manipulation of nutrient (nutrient additions versus no additions) with and without zooplankton. The interaction of a two-phase nutrient addition (a net increase in concentrations of 250.0 μM N and 16.1 μM P each time) and the presence of zooplankton significantly altered phytoplankton community composition. When the water initially contained zooplankton, nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment promoted a surface Microcystis bloom. However, when the zooplankton was removed from the water at the start of the experiment, no surface Microcystis bloom formed, regardless of nutrient additions. Chlorophyta dominated in the absence of zooplankton, when the same nutrient was provided. Our results demonstrate that Microcystis bloom formation in this eutrophic water body at a mean temperature of about 36°C at 14:00 h was closely related to the initial presence of zooplankton and a sufficient supply of nitrogen and phosphorus. We believe this is one of the first demonstrations of zooplankton controlling Microcystis bloom formation in a water body previously free of surface cyanobacterial blooms.
Expert review on the VenaSeal® system for endovenous cyano-acrylate adhesive ablation of incompetent saphenous trunks in patients with varicose veins

ABSTRACT Introduction: The treatment of incompetent truncal veins has been innovated by the introduction of minimally invasive non-thermal non-tumescent (NTNT) techniques. One of these consists of the use of cyanoacrylate glue to occlude the vein lumen by means of the VenaSeal device. Areas covered: This expert-review aims to evaluate NTNT ablation of incompetent saphenous trunks using the VenaSeal device. Expert commentary: Cyanoacrylate adhesive embolization of incompetent truncal veins using the VenaSeal device is a safe and efficacious innovative technique. Further studies are needed to evaluate anatomical and clinical outcomes at long term.
Anti-disturbance proportional integral attitude control and stabilization of rolling hydraulic position system

Disturbance rejection performance for rolling hydraulic position control system has always been a knotty issue. To guarantee the transient performance and improve disturbance rejection performance of the rolling hydraulic position control system, a compound controller, composed of a feedforward controller part based on proportional integral laws and a compensation part based on disturbance observer, is designed and investigated. In this article, a detailed analysis and design principles of the composite controller are provided. Additionally, stability analysis of the controller is proved using Lyapunov function adapted to the system. Finally, a rigorous analysis of the disturbance rejection performance is given with consideration of both instantaneous disturbances and low-frequency disturbances. For single pulse disturbance, the maximum error is reduced from 3.5% to 0.6%. Furthermore, for more complicated disturbance, sinusoidal disturbance is lower than 50 Hz, disturbance rejection performance decreases with increasing frequency and maximum error is reduced from 5.4% to 1.6%. The test results demonstrate that for single pulse disturbance, the maximum error is reduced from 4.12% to 0.64%. Furthermore, for more complicated disturbance, sinusoidal disturbance is lower than 50 Hz, disturbance rejection performance decreases with increasing frequency and maximum error is reduced from 2.71% to 0.70%. Both simulation and experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method possesses a better disturbance rejection performance than the proportional integral method.
Tabletop Collaboration through Tangible Interactions

Recent advances in tracking technology have led to the design of digital tables that support interaction using multi- finger input and physical objects. However, the tradeoffs between these input modalities are not clear, making it difficult for developers to make informed decisions when choosing input strategies for digital table systems. In this paper, we consider the role that multi-finger input and physical objects play in the design of collaborative tabletop systems. We present the results of an observational study of group work on regular tables, and an experimental study of interaction techniques for supporting group handoff. Our results show that people often perform several explicit communication and coordination activities that involve epistemic and pragmatic movements of physical tools. Further, our experimental results suggest that using physical objects to control digital information improves performance over using finger gestures.
Isolated English Letter Speech Recognition

A multiband local oscillator of a television tuner comprises a common collector transistor amplifier, a feedback circuit for conditioning the amplifier to oscillate in the wide range of frequencies for VHF broadcast and cable channels and a tuning circuit coupled to the base electrode of the transistor. Bandswitching signals are applied to switching diodes in the multiband tuning circuit to produce tuned circuit configurations for the various frequency bands. When one band is selected, the corresponding bandswitching signal is coupled to the switching diode associated with a lower band to turn it on as well as the switching diode for the selected band to inhibit out-of-band oscillators due to parasitic elements of the tuning circuit.
SNARE-dependent signaling at the Drosophila wing margin.

The wing of Drosophila melanogaster has long been used as a model system to characterize intermolecular interactions important in development. Implicit in our understanding of developmental processes is the proper trafficking and sorting of signaling molecules, although the precise mechanisms that regulate membrane trafficking in a developmental context are not well studied. We have therefore chosen the Drosophila wing to assess the importance of SNARE-dependent membrane trafficking during development. N-Ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein (NSF) is a key component of the membrane-trafficking machinery and we constructed a mutant form of NSF whose expression we directed to the developing wing margin. This resulted in a notched-wing phenotype, the severity of which was enhanced when combined with mutants of VAMP/Synaptobrevin or Syntaxin, indicating that it results from impaired membrane trafficking. Importantly, we find that the phenotype is also enhanced by mutations in genes for wingless and components of the Notch signaling pathway, suggesting that these signaling pathways were disrupted. Finally, we used this phenotype to conduct a screen for interacting genes, uncovering two Notch pathway components that had not previously been linked to wing development. We conclude that SNARE-mediated membrane trafficking is an important component of wing margin development and that dosage-sensitive developmental pathways will act as a sensitive reporter of partial membrane-trafficking disruption.
Decision-Rules and Individual Values in Constitutional Choice

Once a political community has decided which of its members are to participate directly in the making of collective policy, an important question remains: “How many of them must agree before a policy is imposed on the community? ” Only if participation is limited to one man does this question become trivial. And this choice of decision-rules may seem only a little less important than the choice of rules in a world so largely governed by committees, councils, conventions, and legislatures. This paper is about the consequences of these rules for individual values. Both the oral and written traditions of political theory have generally confined the search for optimal (or “best”) decision-rules to three alternatives. The rule of consensus tells us that all direct participants must agree on a policy which is to be imposed. Majority-rule tells us that more than half must concur in a policy if it is to be imposed. And the rule of individual initiative (as we may call it), holds that a policy is imposed when any single participant approves of it. These three decision-rules—“everyone,” “most of us,” and “anyone”—are terribly important, but they cannot be said to exhaust the available alternatives. The list of alternatives is just as long as a committee's roster. Only for a committee of three would ‘consensus,’ ‘majority’ and ‘individual initiative’ exhaust the possibilities. In a committee of n members, we have n possible rules. Let the decision-rule be a minimum number of individuals (k) required to impose a policy.
Invasin production by Yersinia pestis is abolished by insertion of an IS200-like element within the inv gene

The two enteropathogens Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica penetrate eukaryotic cells in vitro through invasin, a surface-exposed protein. In contrast, Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is unable to enter mammalian cell lines, although the inv gene is present on its chromosome. Although 99.3% identical to the inv gene of Y. pseudotuberculosis, the Y. pestis inv gene was disrupted in its central region by a 708-bp IS200-like element. Multiple copies of this insertion sequence element were found within the genome of the plague bacillus.
The Sensitivity of PBIL to Its Learning Rate, and How Detailed Balance Can Remove It

A connector for electrically connecting electrical conductors having a housing within which is a holding member containing a preloaded spring, with an insulating cutting edge on the spring and an insulation cutting edge on the holding member, the cutting members acting in opposition on a conductor. Release of the spring, as by flexing the housing causes the cutting edges to cut through the insulation, into electrical contact with the conductor. A similar arrangement of cutting edges is provided for each conductor and a conductive path from one conductor to another is via the spring and/or holding member.
The Spindle Checkpoint Functions of Mad3 and Mad2 Depend on a Mad3 KEN Box-mediated Interaction with Cdc20-Anaphase-promoting Complex (APC/C)*S⃞♦

Mitotic progression is driven by proteolytic destruction of securin and cyclins. These proteins are labeled for destruction by an ubiquitin-protein isopeptide ligase (E3) known as the anaphase-promoting complex or cyclosome (APC/C). The APC/C requires activators (Cdc20 or Cdh1) to efficiently recognize its substrates, which are specified by destruction (D box) and/or KEN box signals. The spindle assembly checkpoint responds to unattached kinetochores and to kinetochores lacking tension, both of which reflect incomplete biorientation of chromosomes, by delaying the onset of anaphase. It does this by inhibiting Cdc20-APC/C. Certain checkpoint proteins interact directly with Cdc20, but it remains unclear how the checkpoint acts to efficiently inhibit Cdc20-APC/C activity. In the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we find that the Mad3 and Mad2 spindle checkpoint proteins interact stably with the APC/C in mitosis. Mad3 contains two KEN boxes, conserved from yeast Mad3 to human BubR1, and mutation of either of these abrogates the spindle checkpoint. Strikingly, mutation of the N-terminal KEN box abolishes incorporation of Mad3 into the mitotic checkpoint complex (Mad3-Mad2-Slp1 in S. pombe, where Slp1 is the Cdc20 homolog that we will refer to as Cdc20 hereafter) and stable association of both Mad3 and Mad2 with the APC/C. Our findings demonstrate that this Mad3 KEN box is a critical mediator of Cdc20-APC/C inhibition, without which neither Mad3 nor Mad2 can associate with the APC/C or inhibit anaphase onset.
Finite element exterior calculus: From hodge theory to numerical stability

This article reports on the confluence of two streams of research, one emanating from the fields of numerical analysis and scientific computation, the other from topology and geometry. In it we consider the numerical discretization of partial differential equations that are related to differential complexes so that de Rham cohomology and Hodge theory are key tools for the continuous problem. After a brief introduction to finite element methods, the discretization methods we consider, we develop an abstract Hilbert space framework for analyzing stability and convergence. In this framework, the differential complex is represented by a complex of Hilbert spaces and stability is obtained by transferring Hodge theoretic structures from the continuous level to the discrete. We show stable discretization is achieved if the finite element spaces satisfy two hypotheses: they form a subcomplex and there exists a bounded cochain projection from the full complex to the subcomplex. Next, we consider the most canonical example of the abstract theory, in which the Hilbert complex is the de Rham complex of a domain in Euclidean space. We use the Koszul complex to construct two families of finite element differential forms, show that these can be arranged in subcomplexes of the de Rham complex in numerous ways, and for each construct a bounded cochain projection. The abstract theory therefore applies to give the stability and convergence of finite element approximations of the Hodge Laplacian. Other applications are considered as well, especially to the equations of elasticity. Background material is included to make the presentation self-contained for a variety of readers.
Effect of pimobendan or benazepril hydrochloride on survival times in dogs with congestive heart failure caused by naturally occurring myxomatous mitral valve disease: the QUEST study.

BACKGROUND Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) continues to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in geriatric dogs despite conventional therapy. HYPOTHESIS Pimobendan in addition to conventional therapy will extend time to sudden cardiac death, euthanasia for cardiac reasons, or treatment failure when compared with conventional therapy plus benazepril in dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF) attributable to MMVD. ANIMALS Two hundred and sixty client-owned dogs in CHF caused by MMVD were recruited from 28 centers in Europe, Canada, and Australia. METHODS A prospective single-blinded study with dogs randomized to PO receive pimobendan (0.4-0.6 mg/kg/d) or benazepril hydrochloride (0.25-1.0 mg/kg/d). The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiac death, euthanized for heart failure, or treatment failure. RESULTS Eight dogs were excluded from analysis. One hundred and twenty-four dogs were randomized to pimobendan and 128 to benazepril. One hundred and ninety dogs reached the primary endpoint; the median time was 188 days (267 days for pimobendan, 140 days for benazepril hazard ratio = 0.688, 95% confidence limits [CL]=0.516-0.916, P= .0099). The benefit of pimobendan persisted after adjusting for all baseline variables. A longer time to reach the endpoint was also associated with being a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, requiring a lower furosemide dose, and having a higher creatinine concentration. Increases in several indicators of cardiac enlargement (left atrial to aortic root ratio, vertebral heart scale, and percentage increase in left ventricular internal diameter in systole) were associated with a shorter time to endpoint, as was a worse tolerance for exercise. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Pimobendan plus conventional therapy prolongs time to sudden death, euthanasia for cardiac reasons, or treatment failure in dogs with CHF caused by MMVD compared with benazepril plus conventional therapy.
The role of hypothalamic vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in the maintenance of prolactin secretion in incubating bantam hens: observations using passive immunization, radioimmunoassay and immunohistochemistry.

The role of chicken vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (cVIP) as a prolactin-releasing factor was investigated in incubating bantam hens. Specific antibodies were raised against cVIP (anti-cVIP) for passive immunization studies, to develop a radioimmunoassay and to localize VIP neurones immunohistochemically in the hypothalamus. The concentration of plasma prolactin decreased after i.v. injection of anti-cVIP: this low concentration being maintained by daily injection of anti-cVIP. Incubating hens injected daily with anti-cVIP deserted their nests after 4.5 +/- 0.6 days and returned to lay after 20 +/- 1 days. This disruption of incubation behaviour with anti-cVIP was prevented by concomitant, twice daily, injections of 30 IU ovine prolactin. The concentration of plasma LH was not immediately affected after injection of anti-cVIP but increased when the hens deserted their nests. The amount of cVIP, measured by radioimmunoassay, was significantly higher in the median eminence (P less than 0.01) and medial basal hypothalamus (P = 0.05) in incubating than in laying hens. No differences were seen in the amounts of cVIP in the preoptic hypothalamus or in a part of the forebrain including the nucleus accumbens, between laying and incubating hens. Morphological observations were made on immunohistochemically identified cVIP cell bodies in the medial basal hypothalamus. These showed that cVIP cell number, cell area and density of immunoreactive product were significantly (P less than 0.05) greater in incubating than in laying hens. Further, the density of cVIP reaction product in the anterior median eminence was also significantly (P less than 0.01) greater in incubating than in laying hens. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A Partisan Schema for Political Information Processing

Based on their interest in politics and knowledge of political leaders, individuals are classified into three levels of partisan sophistication: (1) those scoring high in interest and knowledge (partisan schematics), (2) a middle group, and (3) those scoring low (partisan aschematics). In this experimental study, and consistent with findings from cognitive and social psychology, partisan schematics prove better able than partisan aschematics to classify campaign statements as either Republican or Democratic and to recall the policy stands taken by a fictitious congressman. Aschematics, at the other extreme, perform at no better than chance levels in either the recognition or recall of the congressman's policy statements. There are, however, liabilities to sophistication as well: Schematics demonstrate a “consistency bias” in recalling significantly more policy statements that are consistent with the congressman's party identification than are inconsistent with it. This “restructuring” of memory is especially pronounced among sophisticates, and reflects a serious bias in the processing of political information.
Detection of the optic disc in retinal images by means of ant colony optimization algorithm

Diabetic retinopathy has been revealed as the most common cause of blindness among people of working age. The colour fundus images have been the easiest way to analyse the eye fundus and prevent the progression of this ocular disease. An important prerequisite for automation is the segmentation of the main anatomical features in the image, particularly the optic disc. Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is an optimization algorithm inspired by the foraging behaviour of some ant species that has been applied in image processing for edge detection. In this paper, this algorithm preceded by anisotropic diffusion is used for optic disc detection in retinal images. Experimental results demonstrate the good performance of the proposed approach as the optic disc was located in all the images used, even in the images with great variability.
Prevalência de transtornos fonológicos em crianças do primeiro ano do ensino fundamental

PURPOSE: To identify the prevalence of phonological disorders and to verify the sensitivity and specificity of the adapted Speech Disorder Screening Test (TERDAF) in first grade students of elementary school in Montes Claros, MG (Brazil). METHODS: Children were randomly assigned into cluster sampling in 56 public schools in the city. We assessed 587 children with a mean age of 6 years and 6 months using the adapted TERDAF; to verify the test's sensitivity and specificity, 229 of them were also assessed using the Speech Diagnosis Assessment, considered golden standard method. RESULTS: The prevalence of phonological disorders was 36.2%. The test presented sensitivity of 94.0%, but low specificity (41.1%). Considering the linguistic variations as normal production, the test had sensitivity of 86.7%, specificity of 75.3%, positive predictive value of 66.7% and negative predictive value of 90.9%. CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of phonological disorders was found. Due to the fact that most subjects did not recognize some picture and also that productions reflecting socio-cultural conditions occurred, the test must be further reviewed in order to be more accurate in the identification of phonological disorders.