Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computing Structural Descriptions of Music through the Identification of Representative Excerpts from Audio Files

With the rapid growth of audio databases, many music retrieval applications have employed metadata descriptions to facilitate better handling of huge databases. Music structure creates the uniqueness identity for each music piece. Therefore, structural description is capable of providing a powerful way of interacting with audio content, and serves as a linkage between low-level description and higher-level descriptions of audio (e.g. audio summarization, audio fingerprinting, etc.). Identification of representative musical excerpts is the primary step towards the goal of generating structural descriptions of audio signals. In this paper, we will provide a systematic review of the existing work on extracting musical structure descriptors from music files and will present, discuss, and evaluate various approaches in identifying representative musical excerpts of music audio signals.
The Large Scale Energy Landscape of Randomly Pinned Objects

We discuss trie large scale effective potential for elastic objects (mamfolds) in trie presence of a random pinning potential, from trie point of view of trie functional renor- malisation group (FRG) and of trie replica method. Both approaches suggest that trie energy landscape ai large scales is a succession of parabolic wells of random depth, matching on singu- lar points where trie effective force is discontinuous. These parabolas are themselves subdivided into smaller parabolas, corresponding to trie motion of smaller length scales, in a hierarchical manner. Consequences for trie dynamics of these pmned abjects are underlined.
Dynamic Generation of Dilemma-based Interactive Narratives

This paper presents a system which automatically generates interactive stories. These are focused on dilemmas in order to create dramatic tension. The system is provided with knowledge of generic story actions and dilemmas based on those cliches encountered in many of today’s soap operas. The story designer is only required to provide genre specific storyworld knowledge, such as information on characters and their relations, locations and actions. These dilemmas and story actions are instantiated for the given storyworld and a story planner creates sequences of actions that each lead to a dilemma for a character (who can be the user). The user interacts with the story by making decisions on relevant dilemmas and by freely choosing their own actions. Using this input the system chooses and adapts future story lines according to the user's past behaviour.
Infants use relative numerical group size to infer social dominance

Significance The ability to detect dominance relationships is essential for survival because it helps individuals weigh the potential costs and benefits of engaging in a physical competition. Here we show that infants as young as 6 mo of age are capable of detecting dominance relations when provided with an ecologically relevant cue such as social group size. Furthermore, infants can infer the social dominance relationship between two competing individuals based on the size of the group to which they belong, and expect individuals from a numerically larger group to get their way. These findings reveal that infants may have an evolutionarily ancient cognitive capacity to represent social dominance relations that is shared with other species within the animal kingdom. Detecting dominance relationships, within and across species, provides a clear fitness advantage because this ability helps individuals assess their potential risk of injury before engaging in a competition. Previous research has demonstrated that 10- to 13-mo-old infants can represent the dominance relationship between two agents in terms of their physical size (larger agent = more dominant), whereas younger infants fail to do so. It is unclear whether infants younger than 10 mo fail to represent dominance relationships in general, or whether they lack sensitivity to physical size as a cue to dominance. Two studies explored whether infants, like many species across the animal kingdom, use numerical group size to assess dominance relationships and whether this capacity emerges before their sensitivity to physical size. A third study ruled out an alternative explanation for our findings. Across these studies, we report that infants 6–12 mo of age use numerical group size to infer dominance relationships. Specifically, preverbal infants expect an agent from a numerically larger group to win in a right-of-way competition against an agent from a numerically smaller group. In addition, this is, to our knowledge, the first study to demonstrate that infants 6–9 mo of age are capable of understanding social dominance relations. These results demonstrate that infants’ understanding of social dominance relations may be based on evolutionarily relevant cues and reveal infants’ early sensitivity to an important adaptive function of social groups.
The Role of Cingulate Cortex in Vicarious Pain

Vicarious pain is defined as the observation of individuals in pain. There is growing neuroimaging evidence suggesting that the cingulate cortex plays a significant role in self-experienced pain processing. Yet, very few studies have directly tested the distinct functions of the cingulate cortex for vicarious pain. In this review, one EEG and eighteen neuroimaging studies reporting cingulate cortex activity during pain observation were discussed. The data indicate that there is overlapping neural activity in the cingulate cortex during self- and vicarious pain. Such activity may contribute to shared neural pain representations that permit inference of the affective state of individuals in pain, facilitating empathy. However, the exact location of neuronal populations in which activity overlaps or differs for self- and observed pain processing requires further confirmation. This review also discusses evidence suggesting differential functions of the cingulate cortex in cognitive, affective, and motor processing during empathy induction. While affective processing in the cingulate cortex during pain observation has been explored relatively more often, its attention and motor roles remain underresearched. Shedding light on the neural correlates of vicarious pain and corresponding empathy in healthy populations can provide neurobiological markers and intervention targets for empathic deficits found in various clinical disorders.
Nonprehensile dynamic manipulation of a sheet-like viscoelastic object

This paper discusses a nonprehensile dynamic manipulation of a deformable object, where the object is remotely manipulated on a plate attached at the tip of a bar. We have found that the object's deformation generated by dynamic effects can drastically contribute to a fast and stable object rotation. We introduce a new simulation model for a sheet-like object, where the object is constructed of multiple nodes connected by three DOFs viscoelastic joint units. We apply the model to real food after the viscoelastic parameters are estimated. Then, simulation analysis is used to show how the object's rotation behavior changes with respect to the plate's motion frequency, similar to the motion of human legs sliding, walking, and running. Finally we obtain an optimum plate motion leading to the maximal angular velocity of the object. We also reveal that an appropriate angular acceleration of the plate is essential for a dynamically stable and fast object rotation.
The Champion Effect in Peer-to-Peer Giving: Successful Campaigns Highlight Fundraisers More Than Causes

Online peer-to-peer giving is an emerging charity context that has rarely been investigated. Using a unique combination of survey and behavioral data from 1,647 online peer-to-peer fundraisers (whom we call “champions”), we tested empirically the influence of different best practices on fundraising success in this novel giving context. Across two samples, we found the fundraiser’s identification with the cause led them to engage in more best practice actions, which in turn led to greater fundraising success. However, not all actions were equally influential. Actions that made the champion salient—namely those relating to solicitation and those that signaled the fundraiser was highly invested in their campaign—were the strongest predictors of fundraising success, together explaining 28 times the variance accounted for by actions signaling charity efficacy. Thus, fundraisers will have more success by championing themselves than by promoting the charity in question: a finding with important applied and theoretical implications.
A Role for Msh6 But Not Msh3 in Somatic Hypermutation and Class Switch Recombination

Somatic hypermutation is initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), and occurs in several kilobases of DNA around rearranged immunoglobulin variable (V) genes and switch (S) sites before constant genes. AID deaminates cytosine to uracil, which can produce mutations of C:G nucleotide pairs, and the mismatch repair protein Msh2 participates in generating substitutions of downstream A:T pairs. Msh2 is always found as a heterodimer with either Msh3 or Msh6, so it is important to know which one is involved. Therefore, we sequenced V and S regions from Msh3- and Msh6-deficient mice and compared mutations to those from wild-type mice. Msh6-deficient mice had fewer substitutions of A and T bases in both regions and reduced heavy chain class switching, whereas Msh3-deficient mice had normal antibody responses. This establishes a role for the Msh2-Msh6 heterodimer in hypermutation and switch recombination. When the positions of mutation were mapped, several focused peaks were found in Msh6 −/− clones, whereas mutations were dispersed in Msh3 −/− and wild-type clones. The peaks occurred at either G or C in WGCW motifs (W = A or T), indicating that C was mutated on both DNA strands. This suggests that AID has limited entry points into V and S regions in vivo, and subsequent mutation requires Msh2-Msh6 and DNA polymerase.
Determination of blasting vibration parameters using Particle Swarm Optimization

The control of blasting ground vibration has been an important research subject in engineering blasting field, and the accurate forecast of blasting vibration is the premise and basis of vibrating control. Particle swarm optimization is a global optimization algorithm for dealing with problems in which a best solution can be represented as a point or surface in an n-dimensional space. In this paper, the principle of Particle Swarm Optimization is stated briefly and PSO algorithm is applied in calculation of blasting vibration parameters. The results show that the velocity of blasting vibration calculated by PSO is accurately achieved and the application of PSO algorithm to determination of blasting parameters is feasible.
Appeared in SIGACT 1992 Linear Logic

Linear logic was introduced by Girard in 1987 [11]. Since then many results have supported Girard’s claims such as “Linear logic is a resource conscious logic”. Increasingly, computer scientists have recognized linear logic as an expressive and powerful logic, with deep connections to concepts from computer science. The expressive power of linear logic is evidenced by some very natural encodings of computational models such as Petri nets, counter machines, Turing machines, and others. This note presents an intuitive overview of linear logic, some recent theoretical results, and some interesting applications of linear logic to computer science. Other introductions to linear logic may be found in [12, 36].
Theoretical Fits of the δ Cephei Light, Radius, and Radial Velocity Curves

We present a theoretical investigation of the light, radius, and radial velocity variations of the prototype δ Cephei. We find that the best-fit model accounts for luminosity and velocity amplitudes with an accuracy better than 0.8 σ, and for the radius amplitude with an accuracy of 1.7 σ. The chemical composition of this model suggests a decrease in both helium (0.26 vs. 0.28) and metal (0.01 vs. 0.02) content in the solar neighborhood. Moreover, distance determinations based on the fit of light curves agree at the 0.8 σ level with the trigonometric parallax measured by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). On the other hand, distance determinations based on angular diameter variations, which are independent of interstellar extinction and of the p-factor value, indicate an increase of the order of 5% in the HST parallax.
DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF DC-DC BOOST CONVERTER FOR GRID CONNECTED PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATION SYSTEM

The main purpose of this paper is to introduce an approach to design a DC-DC boost converter with constant output voltage for grid connected photovoltaic application system. The boost converter is designed to step up a fluctuating solar panel voltage to a higher constant DC voltage. It uses voltage feedback to keep the output voltage constant. To do so, a microcontroller is used as the heart of the control system which it tracks and provides pulse-widthmodulation signal to control power electronic device in boost converter. The boost converter will be able to direct couple with grid-tied inverter for grid connected photovoltaic system. Simulations were performed to describe the proposed design.
Relative normal modes for nonlinear Hamiltonian systems*

An estimate on the number of distinct relative periodic orbits around a stable relative equilibrium in a Hamiltonian system with continuous symmetry is given. This result constitutes a generalization to the Hamiltonian symmetric framework of a classical result by Weinstein and Moser on the existence of periodic orbits in the energy levels surrounding a stable equilibrium. The estimate obtained is very precise in the sense that it provides a lower bound for the number of relative periodic orbits at each prescribed energy and momentum values neighbouring the stable relative equilibrium in question and with any prefixed (spatio-temporal) isotropy subgroup. Moreover, it is easily computable in particular examples. It is interesting to see how, in our result, the existence of non-trivial relative periodic orbits requires (generic) conditions on the higher-order terms of the Taylor expansion of the Hamiltonian function, in contrast with the purely quadratic requirements of the Weinstein–Moser theorem, which emphasizes the highly nonlinear character of the relatively periodic dynamical objects.
Evaluating Aftereffects of Short-Duration Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation on Cortical Excitability

A 10-minute application of highfrequency (100–640 Hz) transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) increases baseline levels of cortical excitability, lasting around 1 hr poststimulation Terney et al. (2008). We have extended previous work demonstrating this effect by decreasing the stimulation duration to 4, 5, and 6 minutes to assess whether a shorter duration of tRNS can also induce a change in cortical excitability. Single-pulse monophasic transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to measure baseline levels of cortical excitability before and after tRNS. A 5- and 6-minute tRNS application induced a significant facilitation. 4-minute tRNS produced no significant aftereffects on corticospinal excitability. Plastic after effects after tRNS on corticospinal excitability require a minimal stimulation duration of 5 minutes. However, the duration of the aftereffect of 5-min tRNS is very short compared to previous studies using tRNS. Developing different transcranial stimulation techniques may be fundamental in understanding how excitatory and inhibitory networks in the human brain can be modulated and how each technique can be optimised for a controlled and effective application.
Study of Chaos in the Lifecycle of Strategic Network Based on Niche Theory

Niche theory and the Logistic equation are applied to analyze the lifecycle of a strategic network. The analysis shows it's harmful for the evolution of a strategic network if the gathering capability of the strategic network is too weak or strong. Because the strategic network with a weak gathering capability will result in failure. Besides, bifurcation or chaos will appear in the strategic network with an unusual strong gathering capability. Therefore, it's significant to control the strategic network at a reasonable growing pace. The core corporation of a strategic network will play an important role in controlling the gathering capability of the network.
Principle of Operation and Performance of a Synchronous Machine Employing a New Harmonic Excitation Scheme

This paper presents a new harmonic current excitation principle for a synchronous machine drive based on control of the spatial third harmonic MMF. Unlike existing harmonic excitation technologies, which utilize the third harmonic components of the rotor magnetic field, this brushless harmonic excitation principle is realized by injecting an ac single-phase current component or dc component into three-phase open stator windings thereby utilizing the resultant third harmonic spatial stator MMF component. This additional component generates either a stationary or time pulsating magnetic field which will induce voltages in a specially designed rotor winding. Through rectification, the induced voltage is used to supply dc current to the rotor excitation winding. To verify the aforementioned principle, theoretical analyses, magnetic field calculations by finite-element analysis and experiments with a 1.0-kW prototype machine have been performed and key influential factors have been investigated. The test results are shown to be consistent with the theoretical analysis, which validates the correctness of the theory.
The Can-SAD study: a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of light therapy and fluoxetine in patients with winter seasonal affective disorder.

OBJECTIVE Light therapy and antidepressants have shown comparable efficacy in separate studies of seasonal affective disorder treatment, but few studies have directly compared the two treatments. This study compared the effectiveness of light therapy and an antidepressant within a single trial. METHOD This double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted in four Canadian centers over three winter seasons. Patients met DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder with a seasonal (winter) pattern and had scores > or = 23 on the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. After a baseline observation week, eligible patients were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of double-blind treatment with either 1) 10,000-lux light treatment and a placebo capsule, or 2) 100-lux light treatment (placebo light) and fluoxetine, 20 mg/day. Light treatment was applied for 30 minutes/day in the morning with a fluorescent white-light box; placebo light boxes used neutral density filters. RESULTS A total of 96 patients were randomly assigned to a treatment condition. Intent-to-treat analysis showed overall improvement with time, with no differences between treatments. There were also no differences between the light and fluoxetine treatment groups in clinical response rates (67% for each group) or remission rates (50% and 54%, respectively). Post hoc testing found that light-treated patients had greater improvement at 1 week but not at other time points. Fluoxetine was associated with greater treatment-emergent adverse events (agitation, sleep disturbance, palpitations), but both treatments were generally well-tolerated with no differences in overall number of adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS Light treatment showed earlier response onset and lower rate of some adverse events relative to fluoxetine, but there were no other significant differences in outcome between light therapy and antidepressant medication. Although limited by lack of a double-placebo condition, this study supports the effectiveness and tolerability of both treatments for seasonal affective disorder and suggests that other clinical factors, including patient preference, should guide selection of first-line treatment.
On the Hardness of Approximating the Network Coding Capacity

This work addresses the computational complexity of achieving the capacity of a general network coding instance. It has been shown [Lehman and Lehman, SODA 2005] that determining the “scalar linear” capacity of a general network coding instance is NP-hard. In this paper we address the notion of approximation in the context of both linear and nonlinear network coding. Loosely speaking, we show that given an instance of the general network coding problem of capacity C , constructing a code of rate αC for any universal (i.e., independent of the size of the instance) constant α ≤ 1 is “hard”. Specifically, finding such network codes would solve a long standing open problem in the field of graph coloring. Our results refer to scalar linear, vector linear, and nonlinear encoding functions and are the first results that address the computational complexity of achieving the network coding capacity in both the vector linear and general network coding scenarios. In addition, we consider the problem of determining the (scalar) linear capacity of a planar network coding instance (i.e., an instance in which the underlying graph is planar). We show that even for planar networks this problem remains NP-hard.
The radiological assessment of axial involvement in psoriatic arthritis: a validation study of the BASRI total and the modified SASSS scoring methods.

OBJECTIVES To assess the validity of the BASRI and m-SASSS scores for the radiological axial involvement in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Secondary end-points were to report on clinical, functional and radiographic characteristics of axial involvement. METHODS Inclusion criteria were satisfaction of the CASPAR criteria and the presence of clinical, functional and/or radiological axial involvement. Three observers scored the radiographs by BASRI and m-SASSS. The construct validity was assessed by examining the correlation of instruments with patient reported outcomes and anthropometric measures. The reliability and the feasibility of the scores were also considered. RESULTS Seventy-seven patients were enrolled (58 M, 19 F, mean age 49.4 + or - 10.8 yrs, disease duration 13.9 + or - 7.9 yrs). Both instruments showed some modest but significant correlation with clinical measures. When compared, the BASRI showed a correlation with BASMI (rho=0.47, p<0.001), cervical rotation (rho=-0.49, p<0.001), tragus to wall (rho=0.34, p<0.01) and occiput to wall (rho=0.49, p<0.001), modified Schober test (rho=-0.24, p<0.05) and RLDQ (rho=-0.24, p<0.05). When compared, m-SASSS showed a correlation with BASMI (rho=0.39, p<0.001), cervical rotation (rho=-0.41, p<0.001), tragus to wall (rho=0.31, p<0.01) and occiput to wall (rho=0.42, p<0.001), modified Schober and Schober test (rho=-0.34, p<0.001; rho= -0.32, p<0.01), finger to floor (rho=0.37, p<0.01). No correlation was found with BASFI, BASDAI and HAQ. Test-retest showed a good reliability of the scores. Both were feasible but BASRI was the quickest. CONCLUSION Our results showed that BASRI and m-SASSS were valid instruments for use in spondylitis associated with psoriatic arthritis. Longitudinal data is required to provide sensitivity to change of the two scores.