Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of latency on performer interaction and subjective quality assessment of a digital musical instrument

When designing digital musical instruments the importance of low and consistent action-to-sound latency is widely accepted. This paper investigates the effects of latency (0-20ms) on instrument quality evaluation and performer interaction. We present findings from an experiment conducted with musicians who performed on an percussive digital musical instrument with variable amounts of latency. Three latency conditions were tested against a zero latency condition, 10ms, 20ms and 10ms ± 3ms jitter. The zero latency condition was significantly rated more positively than the 10ms with jitter and 20ms latency conditions in six quality measures, emphasising the importance of not only low, but stable latency in digital musical instruments. There was no significant difference in rating between the zero latency condition and 10ms condition. A quantitative analysis of timing accuracy in a metronome task under latency conditions showed no significant difference in mean synchronisation error. This suggests that the 20ms and 10ms with jitter latency conditions degrade subjective impressions of an instrument, but without significantly affecting the timing performance of our participants. These findings are discussed in terms of control intimacy and instrument transparency.
Formal Metamodelling and Agile Method Engineering in MetaCASE and CAME Tool Environments

This paper explores the capabilities of formal metamodelling in order to support agile process models in the context of CASE-Shells and CAME tool environments. The strengths and weaknesses of metamodelling environments are discussed, while their limitations to metamodelling at the level of both software process (method engineering) and product (methods metaspecifications) are critically examined. The paper provides examples by focusing on MetaEdit+, a MetaCASE multilevel tool of the CASE-Shells paradigm. A coherent proposal is presented on what is needed to suitably adapt and customise MetaCASE and CAME to new organisational needs and extend their functionality to model processes agilely and formally. In particular, it is demonstrated how IS development methods that are specified in CAME environments can be extended in a manner that they are more agile, dynamic, richer in syntax and semantics and cater for computation, testing and successful process evolution.
The Moderating Role of Conflict on Feedback Mechanisms , Trust , and Risk in Electronic Marketplaces 1 RESEARCH NOTE

Managing buyers’ trust and perceived risk through an effective feedback mechanism is central to electronic marketplace success (Pavlou and Gefen, 2004). This research note aims to include the role of conflict in our understanding of buyer behavior in online markets. Based on psychological contract violation theory, we propose that an experience of conflict causes buyers to shift their mindset from an emphasis on building trust to an emphasis on reducing risk. Accordingly, it is hypothesized that while the perceived effectiveness of the feedback mechanism mainly affects trust in the community of sellers among buyers who never experienced conflict with sellers (no-conflict buyers), it mainly influences perceived risk among those who did experience conflict (post-conflict buyers). It is also hypothesized that trust should have a greater effect on behavioral intentions among no conflict buyers, while perceived risk should have the greater effect among post-conflict buyers. Data from 466 buyers in eBay’s and Amazon’s auction marketplaces support these hypotheses, showing a shift from trust to perceived risk as the dominant factor as a result of conflict. Implications for understanding buyer behavior in electronic marketplaces are discussed.
An Identifiers Separating and Mapping Architecture

Traditional Internet faces many challenges, ranging from security threats, routing scaling problems to inadequate support for mobility, multihoming and traffic engineering. This paper proposes a clean-state network-based architecture, named Identifiers Separating and Mapping Architecture (ISMA), to solve these problems. The key design concepts of ISMA include separating customer networks from the core network strictly, decoupling node identities from their network locations, and bridging customer networks and the core network by a mapping service. In ISMA, nodes in customer networks communicate with each other using their stable Accessing Identifiers (AIDs), while the Switching-Routing Identifiers (SRIDs) that contain their location information are hidden inside of the core network. The separating scheme can provide efficient improvements in routing scalability, security and location privacy, while the mapping scheme is of great benefits to mobility, multihoming and traffic engineering.
Structural identifiability of linear lossy Port Controlled Hamiltonian systems

The structural identifiability analysis of linear lossy Port Controlled Hamiltonian(PCH) systems is proposed in this paper, by means of the observability and controllability concepts, which characterize a dynamic system. A general result is proved and proposed for the observability of linear lossy PCH systems. As example for the structural identifiability analysis, a DC motor is considered.
Profile of informal microenterprises in the retail sector of South Africa : research article

The importance of the informal retail sector is highlighted by the fact that its sales amounted to more than R38 billion in 2003. The reality that the informal retailer acts as an important delivery channel of goods to consumers is increasingly being acknowledged by manufacturers and wholesalers. The informal retail sector can also play a key role in unleashing entrepreneurial spirit in South Africa. Knowing the dynamics of the informal retail sector may contribute towards an increased awareness of this important but unrecorded sector of the economy. This article is aimed at highlighting the profile and functioning of the informal retail trade sector in South Africa with regard to aspects such as its size, owner and household engagement, assortment of merchandise, relationship with suppliers and constraints encountered. The analysis is based on a national survey among 481 informal retailers in which three types of informal retailers were distinguished, namely: hawkers, spazas and township general dealers.
A correlated multiple sampling passive switched capacitor circuit for low light CMOS image sensors

After a brief review of the principle of correlated multiple sampling (CMS) and its implementation techniques in CIS readout chains, a simple CMS passive circuit that (i) requires no additional active circuitry, (ii) has no impact on the output dynamic range and (iii) does not need multiple analog-to-digital conversions (faster) is presented. The proposed circuit uses n switched capacitors to perform a CMS on 2n samples. It is validated using transient noise simulations on a CIS readout chain based on a 4T pixel, designed with a 180nm CIS process. For a line readout time of 35 μs and a column amplifier bandwidth of 256 kHz, the proposed circuit reduces the input-referred noise as expected by an ideal CMS.
Sec16p potentiates the action of COPII proteins to bud transport vesicles

SEC16 encodes a 240-kD hydrophilic protein that is required for transport vesicle budding from the ER in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sec16p is tightly and peripherally bound to ER membranes, hence it is not one of the cytosolic proteins required to reconstitute transport vesicle budding in a cell-free reaction. However, Sec16p is removed from the membrane by salt washes, and using such membranes we have reconstituted a vesicle budding reaction dependent on the addition of COPII proteins and pure Sec16p. Although COPII vesicle budding is promoted by GTP or a nonhydrolyzable analogue, guanylimide diphosphate (GMP-PNP), Sec16p stimulation is dependent on GTP in the reaction. Details of coat protein assembly and Sec16p-stimulated vesicle budding were explored with synthetic liposomes composed of a mixture of lipids, including acidic phospholipids (major–minor mix), or a simple binary mixture of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Sec16p binds to major–minor mix liposomes and facilitates the recruitment of COPII proteins and vesicle budding in a reaction that is stimulated by Sar1p and GMP-PNP. Thin-section electron microscopy confirms a stimulation of budding profiles produced by incubation of liposomes with COPII and Sec16p. Whereas acidic phospholipids in the major–minor mix are required to recruit pure Sec16p to liposomes, PC/PE liposomes bind Sar1p-GTP, which stimulates the association of Sec16p and Sec23/24p. We propose that Sec16p nucleates a Sar1-GTP–dependent initiation of COPII assembly and serves to stabilize the coat to premature disassembly after Sar1p hydrolyzes GTP.
Natural Non-Renewable Resources in Economic Theory

Non-renewable resources can doubtlessly be regarded as the backbone of our modern society. However, most of economists have ignored the impact of non-renewable resources on the environment by dissociating the economy from the ecological network it is fundamentally linked to. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to highlight a literature overview of the most important opinions regarding non-renewable natural resources.
Auditory and Multisensory Responses in the Tectofugal Pathway of the Barn Owl

A common visual pathway in all amniotes is the tectofugal pathway connecting the optic tectum with the forebrain. The tectofugal pathway has been suggested to be involved in tasks such as orienting and attention, tasks that may benefit from integrating information across senses. Nevertheless, previous research has characterized the tectofugal pathway as strictly visual. Here we recorded from two stations along the tectofugal pathway of the barn owl: the thalamic nucleus rotundus (nRt) and the forebrain entopallium (E). We report that neurons in E and nRt respond to auditory stimuli as well as to visual stimuli. Visual tuning to the horizontal position of the stimulus and auditory tuning to the corresponding spatial cue (interaural time difference) were generally broad, covering a large portion of the contralateral space. Responses to spatiotemporally coinciding multisensory stimuli were mostly enhanced above the responses to the single modality stimuli, whereas spatially misaligned stimuli were not. Results from inactivation experiments suggest that the auditory responses in E are of tectal origin. These findings support the notion that the tectofugal pathway is involved in multisensory processing. In addition, the findings suggest that the ascending auditory information to the forebrain is not as bottlenecked through the auditory thalamus as previously thought.
Identication error analysis of block orthogonal modulations for cognitive radio

Cognitive radio is an enhancement on the software radio wherein the receiver has knowledge of external environment, and is capable of complex adaptation strategies [1]. The knowledge is generally composed of information extracted from the propagation channel modeling and the identification of other signals in the channel. In the presence of additional radio systems, signal identification will provide the cognitive radio with the tools to either communicate or avoid them. For these tools, the cognitive radio requires an efficient signal classification system. Modulation identification has been of significant importance for the cognitive radio. Modulation identifications are exploited for symbol-by-symbol modulations [2].
Effectiveness of Genomic Prediction of Maize Hybrid Performance in Different Breeding Populations and Environments

Genomic prediction is expected to considerably increase genetic gains by increasing selection intensity and accelerating the breeding cycle. In this study, marker effects estimated in 255 diverse maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids were used to predict grain yield, anthesis date, and anthesis-silking interval within the diversity panel and testcross progenies of 30 F2-derived lines from each of five populations. Although up to 25% of the genetic variance could be explained by cross validation within the diversity panel, the prediction of testcross performance of F2-derived lines using marker effects estimated in the diversity panel was on average zero. Hybrids in the diversity panel could be grouped into eight breeding populations differing in mean performance. When performance was predicted separately for each breeding population on the basis of marker effects estimated in the other populations, predictive ability was low (i.e., 0.12 for grain yield). These results suggest that prediction resulted mostly from differences in mean performance of the breeding populations and less from the relationship between the training and validation sets or linkage disequilibrium with causal variants underlying the predicted traits. Potential uses for genomic prediction in maize hybrid breeding are discussed emphasizing the need of (1) a clear definition of the breeding scenario in which genomic prediction should be applied (i.e., prediction among or within populations), (2) a detailed analysis of the population structure before performing cross validation, and (3) larger training sets with strong genetic relationship to the validation set.
Characterizing sources and remedies for packet loss in network intrusion detection systems

Network intrusion detection is becoming an increasingly important tool to protect critical information and infrastructure from unauthorized access. Network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) are commonly based on general-purpose workstations connected to a network tap. However, these general-purpose systems, although cost-efficient, are not able to sustain the packet rates of modern high-speed networks. The resulting packet loss degrades the system's overall effectiveness, since attackers can intentionally overload the NIDS to evade detection. This paper studies the performance requirements of a commonly used open-source NIDS on a modern workstation architecture. Using full-system simulation, this paper characterizes the impact of a number of system-level optimizations and architectural trends on packet loss, and highlights the key bottlenecks for this type of network-intensive workloads. Results suggest that interrupt aggregation combined with rule set pruning is most effective in minimizing packet loss. Surprisingly, the workload also exhibits sufficient locality to benefit from larger level-2 caches as well. On the other hand, many other common architecture and system optimizations have only a negligible impact on throughput.
Imaging of Leukocyte Trafficking in Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by a progressive decline of cognitive functions. The neuropathological features of AD include amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition, intracellular neurofibrillary tangles derived from the cytoskeletal hyperphosphorylated tau protein, amyloid angiopathy, the loss of synapses, and neuronal degeneration. In the last decade, inflammation has emerged as a key feature of AD, but most studies have focused on the role of microglia-driven neuroinflammation mechanisms. A dysfunctional blood–brain barrier has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of AD, and several studies have demonstrated that the vascular deposition of Aβ induces the expression of adhesion molecules and alters the expression of tight junction proteins, potentially facilitating the transmigration of circulating leukocytes. Two-photon laser scanning microscopy (TPLSM) has become an indispensable tool to dissect the molecular mechanisms controlling leukocyte trafficking in the central nervous system (CNS). Recent TPLSM studies have shown that vascular deposition of Aβ in the CNS promotes intraluminal neutrophil adhesion and crawling on the brain endothelium and also that neutrophils extravasate in the parenchyma preferentially in areas with Aβ deposits. These studies have also highlighted a role for LFA-1 integrin in neutrophil accumulation in the CNS of AD-like disease models, revealing that LFA-1 inhibition reduces the corresponding cognitive deficit and AD neuropathology. In this article, we consider how current imaging techniques can help to unravel new inflammation mechanisms in the pathogenesis of AD and identify novel therapeutic strategies to treat the disease by interfering with leukocyte trafficking mechanisms.
Throughput Performance of Java Messaging Services Using WebsphereMQ

The Java messaging service (JMS) is a middlewareoriented messaging technology working according to the publish/ subscribe principle. If subscribers install filter rules on the JMS server, JMS can be used as a message routing platform, but it is not clear whether its message throughput is sufficiently high to support large-scale systems. In this paper we investigate the capacity of the Websphere Message Queue JMS server. In contrast to other studies, we focus on the message throughput in the presence of filters and show that filtering reduces the performance significantly. We also present a model that describes the service time for a single message depending on the number of installed filters and validate it by measurements. This model helps to calculate the system throughput for specific application scenarios.
QoE-aware Traffic Shaping for HTTP Adaptive Streaming

HTTP Adaptive Streaming (HAS) has become a prevailing technology for media delivery nowadays. It enables high quality streaming of media content over the internet delivered from conventional HTTP web servers. However, its on-off traffic pattern constructed by segmented transmission can lead to some performance problems, such as instability, inefficiency and unfairness, while multiple clients compete for limit bandwidth. And the reason caused these poor performance has been pointed out in the past studies. In this paper, we present a QoE-aware traffic shaping method that is based on two QoE maximization metrics. A key benefit of this approach is that it calculates optimal shaping rate to help clients to adjust its request for subsequent segment quality level. Additionally, this method can ensure optimal quality of experience toward end users. The simulation results show that this proposed approach improves the stability, utilization and provides the optimal quality of experience for large number of users.
Biosynthesis of Isoprenoid Wax Ester in Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus DSM 8798: Identification and Characterization of Isoprenoid Coenzyme A Synthetase and Wax Ester Synthases

ABSTRACT Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus DSM 8798 has been reported to synthesize isoprenoid wax ester storage compounds when grown on phytol as the sole carbon source under limiting nitrogen and/or phosphorous conditions. We hypothesized that isoprenoid wax ester synthesis involves (i) activation of an isoprenoid fatty acid by a coenzyme A (CoA) synthetase and (ii) ester bond formation between an isoprenoid alcohol and isoprenoyl-CoA catalyzed, most likely, by an isoprenoid wax ester synthase similar to an acyl wax ester synthase, wax ester synthase/diacylglycerol acyltransferase (WS/DGAT), recently described from Acinetobacter sp. strain ADP1. We used the recently released rough draft genome sequence of a closely related strain, M. aquaeolei VT8, to search for WS/DGAT and acyl-CoA synthetase candidate genes. The sequence information from putative WS/DGAT and acyl-CoA synthetase genes identified in this strain was used to clone homologues from the isoprenoid wax ester synthesizing Marinobacter strain. The activities of the recombinant enzymes were characterized, and two new isoprenoid wax ester synthases capable of synthesizing isoprenoid ester and acyl/isoprenoid hybrid ester in vitro were identified along with an isoprenoid-specific CoA synthetase. One of the Marinobacter wax ester synthases displays several orders of magnitude higher activity toward acyl substrates than any previously characterized acyl-WS and may reflect adaptations to available carbon sources in their environments.
Means-Tested Mortgage Modification: Homes Saved or Income Destroyed?

This paper uses the theories of price discrimination and optimal taxation to investigate effects of underwater mortgages on foreclosures and the incentives to earn income, and the degree to which those effects are shaped by public policy. I find that the federal government's means-tested mortgage modification plan creates a massive implicit tax that may be significant even from a macroeconomic perspective. An alternative of modifying mortgages to maximize lender collections would also feature means tests, but with less effort distortion and perhaps fewer foreclosures. The paper also considers the consequences of a public policy that left mortgage modification to lenders, subject to a requirement that modification would not be conditioned on borrower income.
Discussion Note: Distributed Cognition in Epistemic Cultures

In Epistemic Cultures (1999), Karin Knorr Cetina argues that different scientific fields exhibit different epistemic cultures. She claims that in high energy physics (HEP) individual persons are displaced as epistemic subjects in favor of experiments themselves. In molecular biology (MB), by contrast, individual persons remain the primary epistemic subjects. Using Ed Hutchins’ (1995) account of navigation aboard a traditional US Navy ship as a prototype, I argue that both HEP and MB exhibit forms of distributed cognition. That is, in both fields cognition is distributed across individual persons and complex artifacts. The cognitive system producing the knowledge is heterogeneous. Nevertheless, in both fields we can reserve epistemic agency for the human components of these systems. We do not need to postulate new distributed cognitive agents, let alone ones exhibiting new forms of consciousness.
Incidence of Port-Site Incisional Hernia After Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery

Background and Objectives: Single-incision laparoscopic surgery is gaining popularity among minimally invasive surgeons and is now being applied to a broad number of surgical procedures. Although this technique uses only 1 port, the diameter of the incision is larger than in standard laparoscopic surgery. The long-term incidence of port-site hernias after single-incision laparoscopic surgery has yet to be determined. Methods: All patients who underwent a single-incision laparoscopic surgical procedure from May 2008 through May 2009 were included in the study. Single-incision laparoscopic surgical operations were performed either by a multiport technique or with a 3-trocar single-incision laparoscopic surgery port. The patients were seen at 30 to 36 months' follow-up, at which time they were examined for any evidence of port-site incisional hernia. Patients found to have hernias on clinical examination underwent repairs with mesh. Results: A total of 211 patients met the criteria for inclusion in the study. The types of operations included were cholecystectomy, appendectomy, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric banding, Nissen fundoplication, colectomy, and gastrojejunostomy. We found a port-site hernia rate of 2.9% at 30 to 36 months' follow-up. Conclusion: Port-site incisional hernia after single-incision laparoscopic surgical procedures remains a major setback for patients. The true incidence remains largely unknown because most patients are asymptomatic and therefore do not seek surgical aid.