Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speech Coding and Information Processing in the Peripheral Human Auditory System

The human auditory system outperforms existing automatic speech recognition system by a large extent. This motivates the modeling of the human auditory system and the application of auditory model for robust automatic speech recognition. During the last years, we have acquired a good knowledge about the mechanisms of the auditory system. However, we are less sure about which properties of the auditory coding contribute to its outstanding performance. The debate about different coding strategies such as "rate code" or "temporal code" still persists. This thesis presents a framework including auditory modeling, speech recognition and information theory, in search of the essential aspects of auditory coding. I used a detailed model of human auditory processing that generates realistic auditory nerve spike trains. The model includes strong compression and level dependent shape of active inner ear filtering. I augmented the model with a realistic onset adaptation mechanism to replicate the "dead-time" period of the auditory nerve fibers after signal onset. I also modeled cochlea nucleus onset neurons and connected them to the model. I tested the model qualitatively using a realistic scenario: speech in noise. I implemented different speech recognition engines based on the HTK testbed and the MLP testbed. I evaluated the output auditory nerve spike trains using a rate-place based coding strategy and then augmented it with spikes from octopus neurons which code mainly the temporal structure of the speech signal. Results showed that the realistic onset adaptation improves temporal coding of auditory nerve fibers which also leads to considerable improvement in recognition results. The model achieved robustness against noise which is similar to human performance, even though there is still a big gap in absolute performance. The MLP testbed outperformed HTK testbed, which suggests that innovative features such as neural spike trains require proper matching to the back-end. I also implemented an approach based on information theory for quantitative assessment of the auditory model. I found out that information saturates for periodic signals such as spoken vowels. I was able to analyze the impact of temporal resolution of the spike trains from different onset neurons. I suggested that onset neurons utilized a very high temporal resolution to code information. The quantitative measurement also enabled me to analyze the effect of noise on information transmission. In conclusion, the human auditory model, the qualitative measurement using speech recognition and the quantitative measurement using information theory complement each other. Together, they provide a framework for continuously improving the performance of human auditory modeling for the purpose of speech recognition and information processing.
Virtual firms as education tool in the field of eCommerce

The use of information and communication technologies brings many opportunities to innovate educational process. In the case of education of potential future entrepreneurs, it might be suitable for them to try out firm establishment and operation in virtual environment. Usage of virtual companies is supported by ICT means. The aim of this paper is to present how virtual companies serve for educational purposes at our faculty. At our faculty, we have started several years ago with such a subject of study that allows students to experience setting up and running their own small virtual business in the first period of its existence. Students set up small trade firms in form of limited liability companies, which operate e-shops. Virtual bank of our faculty provides services of electronic payments in e-shops. Also electronic communication with different virtual institutions supported by use of digital signature is used. Our results show virtual firms as very good mean to allow students to gather experience with the establishing and operating firms and develop practical entrepreneurial skills.
The European Union and employment relationships

This paper examines the role of the European Union (EU) in influencing the development of employment relationships in the Member States. An analysis of the formation and development of EU legislation and policies is provided that identifies key players in the processes by which the EU exerts influence over developments in employment relationships. The differential impact of EU actions on organisations is considered with reference to location in Member States and by sector.
Discharge patterns of reticulospinal and other reticular neurons in chronic, unrestrained cats walking on a treadmill.

Recordings were made from single units in the medullary reticular formation (MRF) between AP-4.2 and AP-12.9 and from the midline to 3.7 mm lateral in chronically prepared, unrestrained cats walking on a treadmill. Recordings were made with rigid microelectrodes held in a microdrive, and reticulospinal neurons were identified by antidromic stimulation of their axons through microwires chronically implanted into the spinal cord at the L2 level. Electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded from flexor and extensor muscles of the fore- and hindlimbs as well as from back and neck muscles. In total, 295 cells were recorded from 40 penetrations in 4 cats; 252 of these cells were recorded from the more medial regions of the reticular formation encompassing the gigantocellular, magnocellular, and lateral tegmental fields; 38.5% of these (97/252) were antidromically identified from the spinal cord. The remaining 43 neurons (43/295) were recorded from a more lateral and ventral position. These medial and ventrolateral groups of neurons differed not only in position but also in aspects of their discharge during locomotion. Rank-ordered raster displays, triggered from the onset of each recorded muscle, were used to correlate neuronal and muscular activity. The discharge rate of 31% of the reticulospinal neurons (30/97) was modulated once or twice in each step cycle and was strictly related to one or more of the recorded EMGs (EMG-related neurons) on the basis of the pattern of discharge. The discharge of 33/97 (34%) of the neurons was modulated at the periodicity of the locomotor rhythm but could not be correlated with any of the recorded EMGs (locomotor-related cells), whereas the remaining 34/97 neurons (35%) were either silent, fired tonically, or were not related to the locomotor pattern (unrelated cells). Of the EMG-related neurons 27% were related to flexor muscles and the remaining 63% to extensor muscle activity. The discharge pattern of all except two of the flexor-related neurons was correlated with hindlimb muscle activity, whereas that of the extensor-related neurons was correlated almost equally with fore- and hindlimb muscles. Correlations were found with muscles lying both ipsilaterally and contralaterally to the site of the recordings. Although the locomotor-related neurons showed no preferential relation with any of the recorded EMGs, a comparison of the depth of modulation of their discharge measured from postevent histograms suggested that more of these cells were related to the forelimb than to the hindlimb. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
A Progressive Neurologic Disorder with Multiple CNS Lesions: A Neuroimaging Clinicopathologic Correlation

A 51‐year‐old man with a diagnosis of myelodysplasia and non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma underwent an unmatched allogenic bone marrow transplantation and was treated posttransplant with chronic immunosuppressive medication. Eight months following transplantation, he presented with progressive dysarthria, cognitive and visual decline. Evaluation included brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging demonstrating multifocal areas of increased T2 and FLAIR (fluid attenuated inversion recovery) signals involving the left frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes. The MR lesions demonstrated diffuse increased signal on DWI (diffusion‐weighted images) and normal to low signal on ADC (apparent diffusion coefficients). Contrast‐enhanced T1 images were unremarkable. Lumbar puncture revealed a mild elevation in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein. CSF PCR assay for viral DNA fragments were negative on two occasions. Serum serology for HIV was negative as well. A brain biopsy was subsequently performed. The clinical and neuroimaging differential diagnoses as well as neuropathologic correlation are presented.
OPTIMAL TAXATION OF CAPITAL INCOME IN GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM WITH INFINITE LIVES

This paper analyzes the optimal tax on capital income in general equilibrium models of the second best. Agents have infinite lives and utility functions which are extensions from the Koopmans form. The population is heterogeneous. The important property of the models is the equality between the social and the private discount rates in the long run. I find that the optimal tax rate is zero in the long run. For a special case of additively separable utility functions, I then determine the tax rates along the dynamic path and conditions that are sufficient for the local stability of the steady state.
Interference Alignment for Downlink Transmission of Multiple Interfering Cells

Considering line of sight channels (LOS), an achievable scheme is proposed for downlink channel in cellular networks with more than two interfering cells. The proposed scheme is based on linear precoding at the base stations (BS) and requires feedback only within each cell. For the 3-cell case, mathematical analysis is provided to show that the proposed scheme approaches to interference-free degree-of-freedom (dof) of this channel as the number of users grows. A geometric interpretation is presented to generalize the proposed scheme for more than three cells. Simulation results illustrate the dof achieved using this scheme for the 3-cell case which is important in a real cellular environment because of the three adjacent interfering cells.
Rigid E-unification is NP-complete

Rigid E-unification is a restricted kind of unification modulo equational theories, or E-unification, that arises naturally in extending P. Andrews' (1981) theorem-proving method of mating to first-order languages with equality. It is shown that rigid E-unification is NP-complete and that finite complete sets of rigid E-unifiers always exist. As a consequence, deciding whether a family of mated sets is an equational mating is an NP-complete problem. Some implications of this result regarding the complexity of theorem proving in first-order logic with equality are discussed. <<ETX>>
Recognizing Involuntary Actions from 3D Skeleton Data Using Body States

Human action recognition has been one of the most active fields of research in computer vision over the last years. Two dimensional action recognition methods are facing serious challenges such as occlusion and missing the third dimension of data. Development of depth sensors has made it feasible to track positions of human body joints over time. This paper proposes a novel method for action recognition which usestemporal 3D skeletal Kinect data. This method introduces the definition of body states and then every action is modeled as a sequence of these states. The learning stage uses Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) to construct discriminant feature space for discriminating the body states. Moreover, this paper suggests the use of the Mahalonobis distance as an appropriate distance metric for the classification of the states of involuntary actions. Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is then used to model the temporal transition between the body states in each action. According to the results, this method significantly outperforms other popular methods, with recognition (recall) rate of 88.64% for eight different actions and up to 96.18% for classifying the class of all fall actions versus normal actions.
Analysing the importance rating of CSR challenges in order to improve the supply chain performance

To achieve a high reputation, in the competitive market place, organisations are trying to implement CSR strategies along with their supply chain business functions. The objective of this research is to identify and analyse the significant CSR challenges with an aim to improve the SCP of automobile industry located at NCR of India. To achieve the objective, seven CSR challenges have been considered and analysed using preference rating approach. In order to make analyses more robust, a decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach has also been used to suggest implementable strategies for improvements in SCP. The results indicate that the CSR challenge ‘narrow perception towards CSR initiatives’ holds first rank through achieving highest importance rating (1.0000), highest prominence (6.3194) and highest relation (1.0834) value, among other considered challenges. The findings of this research may help mangers in CSR based decisions-making processes for improving the SCP of their organisation.
Human Rights in the Private Sphere

Part 1 The different ways in which the European Convention on Human Rights is relevant, or may become relevant, in the United Kingdom courts: the relevance of the Convention in the United Kingdom courts the relevance of the Strasbourg Proceedings for the United Kingdom courts incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights in the United Kingdom? Part 2 The application of human rights in the sphere of relations between non-state bodies: international human rights and private bodies - two approaches limits to the application of human rights in the private spehere fundamental rights in the private sphere - the United States and Canada the application of the European Convention of Human Rights to the acts of non-state actors - the case-law of the European Commission and Court of Human Rights The European Community legal order a "private police" for human rights in the private sphere the application of human rights in the private sphere in the United Kingdom.
Grouped transmit point selection and reporting for coordinated multi-point transmission

Coordinated multi-point (CoMP) transmission of distributed antenna systems is efficient in performance improvement for wireless communications, and it has been considered in the specifications of LTE-Advanced. Base station (BS) or transmit point (TP) selection is necessary and important for a system with a large number of BSs or TPs. A grouped TP selection and reporting scheme is proposed and investigated in this paper. The performance of the scheme, as regards to average capacity and edge user capacity, and the cost of implementation are studied, and it is compared with the optimum scheme and two other schemes. The grouped scheme, compared to the optimum TP selection exhibits a good performance but with a low feedback burden.
Peroxynitrite and Hydrogen Peroxide Induced Cell Death in the NSC34 Neuroblastoma × Spinal Cord Cell Line: Role of Poly(ADP‐Ribose) Polymerase

Abstract: The reaction of superoxide and nitric oxide results in the formation of peroxynitrite, a long lived and highly reactive oxidant species. It has been suggested that the formation of peroxynitrite in vivo may contribute to cell death in some neurological conditions. We have examined the effect of peroxynitrite on cell death in the NSC34 spinal cord cell line. A brief (30 min) exposure to either peroxynitrite or hydrogen peroxide caused delayed cell death with an EC50 for both of ∼1 mM. Cell death was prevented by the RNA synthesis inhibitor actinomycin D and included DNA damage as an early event. We sought to clarify the potential role of the DNA binding enzyme poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP) in cell death in these cells. Several PARP inhibitors [benzamide, 3‐aminobenzamide, nicotinamide, and 6(5H)‐phenanthridinone] prevented cell death, but the inactive analogue benzoic acid did not. However, there was no evidence of cleavage of PARP, which occurs in apoptosis via the activation of the caspase CPP32. Therefore, we suggest that PARP contributes to neuronal injury as an early event, probably by lethal NAD depletion, without any requirement for proteolytic cleavage.
Agrarian Change and Ethnic Politics: Restructuring of Hmong and Shan Labour and Agricultural Production in Northern Thailand

Ethnic politics are an important, but under-examined, dynamic in the restructuring of agrarian labour. This paper examines how the discursive construction of ethnic identity has facilitated the particular form of agrarian intensification and labour restructuring under way in the uplands of Thailand. Agricultural intensification, followed by the promotion of ‘safe’ and then ‘organic’ production, has relied upon the construction of Hmong farmers as environmentally destructive and in need of development, while Shan labour arriving from Burma are simultaneously constructed as ‘illegal migrants’ (as opposed to refugees), a social nuisance and hard workers, helping to make them into an available, willing and preferred labour force. We argue that the construction of ethnic identity in these instances enables the agricultural changes under way and, thus, the particularities of agricultural change cannot be understood without careful attention to ethnic politics.
FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI DEBT MATURITY DI SEKTOR INDUSTRI MANUFAKTUR YANG TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA PERIODE 2008-2012

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi Debt Maturity pada badan usaha industri Manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2008-2012. Teori yang terkait adalah Asymmetric Information, Debt Maturity and Pecking Order Theory. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan menggunakan model Least Square (LS). Penelitian ini menggunakan objek penelitian berupa badan usaha industri Manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2008-2012. Jumlah objek penelitian yang digunakan adalah 112 perusahaan (46 perusahaan basic industry and chemicals, 36 perusahaan miscellaneous industry dan 30 perusahaan consumer good industry). Temuan penelitian ini yaitu variabel size dan asset maturity berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap debt maturity. Pada variabel profitability berpengaruh negatif dan signifikan terhadap debt maturity. Di sisi lain, variabel leverage berpengaruh negatif dan tidak signifikan terhadap debt maturity.
Ensuring Accountability in Human Services Contracting

Stewardship theories have been proposed as a basis for the reform of roles and responsibilities of principals and agents in government-contracted service relations and for the development of effective methods for ensuring accountability (and quality) in contracted human services. This article reports on an empirical field study that assessed the utility of external control methods derived from principal-agent theories and used to ensure accountability in contracted services. Assessments were based on evaluations provided by government case managers and caregiver employees in service-providing organizations. The article considers whether methods derived from stewardship theory could replace or supplement external control methods when they fail to uphold accountability or when accountability gaps exist. The author argues that methods derived from stewardship theories could fill some accountability gaps, but systemic problems in contracted human services must also be addressed. Additional research on stewardship theory and methods derived from it is also needed.
Stuctural, Spatial and Other Attibutes of House Price: The Case of Bangladesh

This paper examines the significance of structural and spatial characterstics of house contributing to the property value. Longitudinal data on property value over the last ten years and crosssectional data on house rent have been analysed using Hedonic Regressions Function to derive a house price index for the current housing market in Bangladesh. The trend of house price is increasing more rapidly with the demand driven housing market in Bangladesh. Real estate attracts a great deal of speculative investment, but there is no indication of the relative importance of various factors in this process. This paper hopes to make an initial dent into this problem.
PHILANTHROPIC BEHAVIOUR AND MOTIVES

Even though philanthropy tends to be considered a sociological theme rather than an economic one, it poses a number of questions that challenge economists as well. We chose to address the following: How can economists contribute to the theories related to philanthropy? We examine some terms that are used in public economics theory and use them to explore the issues of philanthropy like Samaritan’s Dilemma, the Prisoner’s Dilemma, and the Free-Rider Problem, which we consider to be interesting and inspiring (Stone, 2008). We have to find and identify the social values of donors and volunteers rather than their economic values, because economists are not fully able to explain empathy, altruism, and helpful behaviour using traditional economic principles (Rutherford, 2008). The theoretical frame is supported by relevant empirical data. Before starting a large-scale survey, we decided to conduct smaller pre-research probes into people’s attitudes towards altruism, philanthropy, and giving. Even though our sample was not fully representative, the responses that we collected generated interesting findings about people’s views and attitudes. The first wave of data was collected between February and April 2009; the second wave between February and April 2010. Because of this pilot research mission and because of the budget restriction too, the non-representative sample of 823 respondents has been used; students of our Public Economics study programme were used as interviewers. They have also obtained a proper training of the professional sociologist. Students utilized the face to face interviewing method; non-standardized questions were immediately recorded into the reply form. Questions were divided into three groups with typical characteristics. The first one focuses on personal (individual) motives for financial donating (only financial gifts for non-profit organizations). Second part examines the attitudes of individual towards the non-profit sector and its transparency, while the third part analyses the profile of particular groups of donors, which are stratified according to selected characteristics as age, field of activity, income level, etc. This paper deals with the second group of questions. Because of the limited representativeness of the sample, the data are not linked to other observed socio-demographic characteristics and indicators (although we have collected them).
Public-Sector Consolidated Financial Statements: An Analysis of the Comment Letters on IPSASB’s Exposure Draft No. 49

Public sector consolidated financial statements can be drafted according to different approaches, especially the “control approach” or “budgetary perspective. ” Considering the growing importance of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in the international scenario, the aim of the article is to investigate these approaches through an analysis of the comment letters submitted to the Exposure Draft no. 49, which will replace the current IPSAS 6. The main finding concerns the acceptance of the key role played by the control approach, even though it needs to be better specified, in order to take into account the public sector characteristics.