bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Frequency Selection Based Separation of Speech Signals with Reduced Computational Time Using Sparse NMF
Authors: Varshney Yash Vardhan , Abbasi Zia Ahmad , Abidi Musiur Raza , Farooq Omar 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
Application of wavelet decomposition is described to speed up the mixed speech signal separation with the help of non-negative matrix factorisation (NMF). It is assumed that the basis vectors of training data of individual speakers had been recorded. In this paper, the spectrogram magnitude of a mixed signal has been factorised with the help of NMF with consideration of sparseness of speech signals. The high frequency components of signal contain very small amount of signal energy. By rejecting the high frequency components, the size of input signal is reduced, which reduces the computational time of matrix factorisation. The signal of lower energy has been separated by using wavelet decomposition. The present work is done for wideband microphone speech signal and standard audio signal from digital video equipment. This shows an improvement in the separation capability using the proposed model as compared with an existing one in terms of correlation between separated and original signals. Obtained signal to distortion ratio (SDR) and signal to interference ratio (SIR) are also larger as compare of the existing model. The proposed model also shows a reduction in computational time, which results in faster operation.
Normalization of Multifocal Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Images
Authors: González-Salido Nuria , Camacho Jorge 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
Imaging the tissue displacements caused by Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) provides qualitative tissue elasticity maps around the focus. To increase imaging range, multi-focus techniques combine several images obtained with different focal depths. Since the acoustic radiation force depends on focus depth, axial distance and steering angle, a normalization process is required before blending multi-focal ARFI images so that changes in the displayed displacements represent true tissue elasticity variations. This work analyzes the sources of displacement variability in multi-focal-zone ARFI and proposes a procedure to normalize and combine partial images. The proposal is based on the system focal configuration, transducer characteristics and global tissue parameters found by ultrasonic measurements. Performance of the proposed algorithm is experimentally evaluated with tissue mimicking phantoms.
Human-likeness assessment for the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis
Authors: Łupkowski Paweł , Rybka Marek , Dziedzic Dagmara , Włodarczyk Wojciech 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
The Uncanny Valley Hypothesis (UVH, proposed in the 1970s) suggests that looking at or interacting with almost human-like artificial characters would trigger eeriness or discomfort. We studied how well subjects can assess degrees of human likeness for computer-generated characters. We conducted two studies, where subjects were asked to assess human likeness of given computer-generated models (Study 1) and to point the most typical model for a given category (Study 2). The results suggest that evaluation of the way human likeness is assessed should be an internal part of UVH research.
A priori knowledge integration for the detection of cerebral aneurysm
Authors: Rahmany Ines , Khlifa Nawres 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
The detection of intracranial aneurysms is of a paramount effect in the prevention of cerebral subarachnoid hemorrhage. We propose in this paper, a new approach to detect cerebral aneurysm in digital subtraction angiography (DSA) images by fusing several sources of knowledge. After a brief description of a priori knowledge that the expert has provided about cerebral aneurysm, we propose a system architecture including fuzzy modeling and data fusion. The results on the studied cases are very promising.
Difficulty Factors and Preprocessing in Imbalanced Data Sets: An Experimental Study on Artificial Data
Authors: Wojciechowski Szymon , Wilk Szymon 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
In this paper we describe results of an experimental study where we checked the impact of various difficulty factors in imbalanced data sets on the performance of selected classifiers applied alone or combined with several preprocessing methods. In the study we used artificial data sets in order to systematically check factors such as dimensionality, class imbalance ratio or distribution of specific types of examples (safe, borderline, rare and outliers) in the minority class. The results revealed that the latter factor was the most critical one and it exacerbated other factors (in particular class imbalance). The best classification performance was demonstrated by non-symbolic classifiers, particular by k-NN classifiers (with 1 or 3 neighbors - 1NN and 3NN, respectively) and by SVM. Moreover, they benefited from different preprocessing methods - SVM and 1NN worked best with undersampling, while oversampling was more beneficial for 3NN.
The Application of Classical and Neural Regression Models for the Valuation of Residential Real Estate
Authors: Mach Łukasz 
Published: July 2017

AbstractThe research process aimed at building regression models, which helps to valuate residential real estate, is presented in the following article. Two widely used computational tools i.e. the classical multiple regression and regression models of artificial neural networks were used in order to build models. An attempt to define the utilitarian usefulness of the above-mentioned tools and comparative analysis of them is the aim of the conducted research. Data used for conducting analyses refers to the secondary transactional residential real estate market.
The Use of Statistical Process Control Tools for Analysing Financial Statements
Authors: Niezgoda Janusz 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
This article presents the proposed application of one type of the modified Shewhart control charts in the monitoring of changes in the aggregated level of financial ratios. The control chart x̅ has been used as a basis of analysis. The examined variable from the sample in the mentioned chart is the arithmetic mean. The author proposes to substitute it with a synthetic measure that is determined and based on the selected ratios. As the ratios mentioned above, are expressed in different units and characters, the author applies standardisation. The results of selected comparative analyses have been presented for both bankrupts and non-bankrupts. They indicate the possibility of using control charts as an auxiliary tool in financial analyses.
Quality Hybrid Education Evaluation: Academic Staff Performance Assessment (Cases: Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University and the University of Silesia)
Authors: Morze Nataliia , Pavlova Hanna , Smyrnova-Trybulska Eugenia 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
The process of adjusting transformation of education to dynamics of civilization development requires from systems of education to respond to constant corrections from all the stakeholders, agents and processes to upgrade its elements and parameters, which can be facilitated by real-time feedbacks at all levels of systems. Studying quality education in the context of the goals that the mankind has been setting for its sustainable development helps realize the changes in the attributes of educational system and subsystem elements, given quality of education reflects a level of disorder providing objective data on interactions of system elements and their discord with normative goals forecast for certain educational systems. The paper analyzes hybrid education as a form of education which is being determined by transformation of educational systems under applying ICTs for educational processes and by external factors connected with determining sustainable development and with hybridization of environment, which requires new instruments for quality assessment that are currently being under development.
Discourse, interests, and the law: Some pragma-legal reflections
Authors: Mey Jacob L. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractThe present paper discusses the evolution of legal discourse as it is happening in a number of well-publicized American cases. Discussions of the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution in relation to freedom of the press and the freedom to carry and use arms are followed by a general discussion of what it means to have a legal text considered as binding across the centuries. It is shown that legal discourse is pragmatically oriented, that is to say, its application and evolution are subject to the general evolution of society and its members, the people interacting with, and interpreting that discourse; this evolution is thus a typical pragmatically relevant process. Over the course of the centuries and years, accumulative gradual developments have often ended up totally altering the interpretation of certain laws and statutes – sometimes to the advantage, sometimes to the disadvantage of underprivileged segments of society, such as the Black population and people of different sexual orientations. The paper will discuss some characteristic historic and contemporary cases of this development.
Architecture of a data analytics service in hybrid cloud environments
Authors: Beier Felix , Stolze Knut 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
DB2 for z/OS is the backbone of many transactional systems in the
world. IBM DB2 Analytics Accelerator (IDAA) is IBM's approach to
enhance DB2 for z/OS with very fast processing of OLAP and analytical
SQL workload. While IDAA was originally designed as an appliance to
be connected directly to System z, the trend in the IT industry is
towards cloud environments. That offers a broad range of tools for
analytical data processing tasks.
This article presents the architecture for offering a hybrid IDAA,
which continues the seamless integration with DB2 for z/OS and now
also runs as a specialty engine in cloud environments. Both
approaches have their merit and will remain important for customers in
the next years. The specific challenges for accelerating query
processing for relational data in the cloud are highlighted.
Specialized hardware options are not readily available, and that has
a direct impact on the system architecture, the offered functionality
and its implementation.
First Identification of Nosema Ceranae (Microsporidia) Infecting Apis Mellifera in Venezuela
Authors: Porrini Leonardo P. , Porrini Martin P. , Garrido Paula M. , Principal Judith , Suarez Carlos J. Barrios , Bianchi Brigitte , Iriarte Pedro J. Fernandez , Eguaras Martín J. 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
Nosema ceranae is a pathogen of Apis mellifera, which seems to have jumped from its original host Asiatic honey bee Apis ceranae. Nosemosis which affects the honey bee Apis mellifera is caused by two parasitic fungi described as etiologic agents of the disease. Nosema apis was the only microsporidian infection identified in A. mellifera until N. ceranae in Taiwan and Europe. Nosema spp. positive samples of adult worker bees from the Venezuelean state of Lara were determined through light microscopy of spores. Samples were then tested to determine Nosema species (N.apis/N.ceranae) using previously reported PCR primers for the 16S rRNA gene. A multiplex PCR assay was used to differentiate both N. apis and N. ceranae species. Only N. ceranae was found in the analyzed samples and the percentage of infected foragers fluctuated between 18% and 60%.
Clustering Using a Combination of Particle Swarm Optimization and K-means
Authors: Patel Garvishkumar K. , Dabhi Vipul K. , Prajapati Harshadkumar B. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractClustering is an unsupervised kind of grouping of data points based on the similarity that exists between them. This paper applied a combination of particle swarm optimization and K-means for data clustering. The proposed approach tries to improve the performance of traditional partition clustering techniques such as K-means by avoiding the initial requirement of number of clusters or centroids for clustering. The proposed approach is evaluated using various primary and real-world datasets. Moreover, this paper also presents a comparison of results produced by the proposed approach and by the K-means based on clustering validity measures such as inter- and intra-cluster distances, quantization error, silhouette index, and Dunn index. The comparison of results shows that as the size of the dataset increases, the proposed approach produces significant improvement over the K-means partition clustering technique.
Particle Swarm Optimisation-Support Vector Machine Optimised by Association Rules for Detecting Factors Inducing Heart Diseases
Authors: Wei-Jia Lu , Liang Ma , Hao Chen 
Published: July 2017

AbstractExisting systems for diagnosing heart diseases are time consuming, expensive, and error prone. Aiming at this, a detection algorithm for factors inducing heart diseases based on a particle swarm optimisation-support vector machine (PSO-SVM) optimised by association rules (ARs) was proposed. Firstly, AR was used to select features from a disease data set so as to train feature sets. Then, PSO-SVM was used to classify training and testing sets, and then the factors inducing heart diseases were analysed. Finally, the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed algorithm was verified by experiments on the UCI Cleveland data set with confidence as the index. The experimental results showed that females have less risk of having a heart attack than males. Irrespective of gender, once diagnosed with chest pain without symptoms and angina caused by exercise, people are more likely to suffer from heart disease. Moreover, compared with another two advanced classification algorithms, the proposed algorithm showed better classification performance and therefore can be used as a powerful tool to help doctors diagnose and treat heart diseases.
Design of Photonic Crystal-Based Demultiplexer with High-Quality Factor for DWDM Applications
Authors: Zavvari Mahdi 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
In this article, we proposed a four-channel optical demultiplexer based on photonic crystal resonant cavities. For performing wavelength selection task, we used four resonant cavities with different lengths in order to choose four channels with different wavelengths. The average channel spacing of the structure is about 1 nm and the minimum transmission efficiency is 90 %. The bandwidths of the channels are the same and equal to 0.8 nm.
Pediatric toxic polycystic thyroid
Authors: Belle Janeil M. , Vasilottos Nektarios , Nebesio Todd D. , James Benjamin C. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractBackground:Polycystic thyroid disease (PCTD) is a rare condition and has been described in adults in the setting of subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism. We present the first known case of a pediatric patient with diffuse macrocystic degeneration of the thyroid.Clinical presentation:A 6-year-old previously healthy patient was evaluated after presenting with a 16-month history of an enlarging polycystic thyroid and hyperthyroidism. Markers of autoimmune thyroid disease including thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor antibody, thyroid peroxidase antibody and thyroglobulin antibody were negative. No family history of benign or malignant thyroid or cystic disease was present. The patient underwent a total thyroidectomy without perioperative complication. She remains euthyroid with thyroid hormone replacement therapy.Summary:To our knowledge, this is the first report of PCTD in the pediatric population associated with hyperthyroidism without evidence of autoimmune disease. Somatic activating thyrotropin-receptor gene mutations are known to cause non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism in children, however it is unknown if similar mechanisms are responsible for pediatric PCTD.Conclusions:Polycystic thyroid degeneration can occur in children and may result in a hyperthyroid state.
Effects of eplerenone on resistance to antihypertensive medication in patients with primary or secondary hyperaldosteronism
Authors: Spence J. David , Bogiatzi Chrysi , Kuk Mariya , Dresser George K. , Hackam Daniel G. 
Published: July 2017

Abstract

Background and Objectives
Resistant hypertension is an important problem; nearly half of diagnosed hypertensives are not controlled to target blood pressure levels, and approximately 90% of strokes occur among patients with resistant hypertension. Primary aldosteronism accounts for approximately 20% of resistant hypertension, but the role of secondary hyperaldosteronism in resistant hypertension is seldom considered. We assessed the effects of eplerenone in patients with hypertension and either primary or secondary hyperaldosteronism.

Methods
Patients with a history of resistant hypertension and a supine plasma aldosterone level ≥ 360 pmol/L were randomized to eplerenone versus placebo in a fully blinded study for one year. A medication intensity score was developed to assess the resistance of hypertension to medication (blood pressure × medication intensity). We assessed the effects of eplerenone on blood pressure and on resistance to concomitant medication.

Results
Final results were available in 37 patients (19 on eplerenone and 18 on placebo). Resistance to medication, as assessed by the intensity of concomitant medication required to maintain blood pressure control, was markedly reduced by eplerenone: medication intensity scores declined by –0.50 ± 1.04 (SD) on placebo versus –2.11 ± 1.45 with eplerenone (P = 0.0001), the Systolic Resistance Score declined by –80.00 ± 122.93 on placebo versus –334.05 ± 21.73 on eplerenone (P = 0.0001), and the Diastolic Resistance Score increased by 1.28 ± 31.65 on placebo and declined by –40.74 ± 57.08 on eplerenone (P = 0.009).

Conclusions
Eplerenone significantly reduced resistance to concomitant antihypertensive medication in both primary and secondary hyperaldosteronism.
Mittelalterliche Literatur im Medienwandel von der Handschrift zum gedruckten Buch. Das Beispiel des ,Herzog Ernst‘
Authors: Goerlitz Uta 
Published: July 2017

AbstractCurrent competence-oriented curricula for secondary education in Germany demand a level of literary, linguistic, and media competence that enables students to study the common cultural heritage and to grow into their roles as members of society. The study of the German language, literature, and culture of the Middle Ages is particularly appropriate to develop this competence. Raising the question of both the alterity and the similarity of the period in comparison with the present, it demands a high degree of critical reflection. At the same time, current research is open to questions posed by the present of the past, concerncing e. g. the increasingly visible effects of the digital revolution, which echoes developments in the change from the manuscript to the printed book in the decades around 1500. The following contribution illustrates the relevance of the transfer of research from university to school by taking today’s media revolution as an opportunity to examine changes in literature and media in the 15th and 16th centuries. To this end, ‚Herzog Ernst‘ serves as an example of a popular narrative complex, interesting not only because of its comprehensiveness, but also for its distinctive transformations from manuscript to print.
Kunstgeschichte: Brücken zwischen Mittelalter und Gegenwart
Authors: Welzel Barbara 
Published: July 2017

AbstractArt education in German schools combines practical courses and art history. The curricula only give a marginal position to art history, however. This concerns the arts of the Middle Ages in particular – only a minimum of lessons, if any at all, are dedicated to medieval art. However, European cities, villages, and landscapes cannot be understood without their structures and buildings inherited from the Middle Ages. In its first section, this article describes the critical situation of art history in German schools and argues that participation in European societies in the full sense of the Human Rights charter requires the inclusion of the medieval heritage in educational programmes. The second section takes Dortmund as an example. The third section describes exemplary projects focussing on medieval objects that we include in the regular curriculum of our teacher training programme at TU Dortmund University, and in collaborative courses held at university and at partner schools.
Mittellateinische Texte in der Schule. Eine Vorbemerkung mit Beispielen zur Briefliteratur
Authors: Orth Peter 
Published: July 2017

AbstractAlthough Latin curricula for secondary schools generally recommend medieval Latin texts as a supplement to classical authors, medieval Latin is not necessarily part of the teacher training programms at university. After giving a brief sketch of medieval Latin studies at German universities, this article explores strategies for transmitting at least a basic knowledge of medieval Latin language and literature to students of Latin philology and teachers. Latin letters of the Carolingian period and the high Middle Ages might be an appropriate theme for complementary reading and comparison with classical models and current forms of communication. Examples from the collections of Alcuin, Einhart and Hildebert of Lavardin are discussed.
Die Musik des Mittelalters in der Kursstufe
Authors: Warzok Lutz 
Published: July 2017

AbstractThe following article will explore the opportunities that medieval music offers in music lessons for teachers as well as for students, with reference to Thuringia's music curriculum for classes 11 and 12 (1999). This type of music should receive greater attention, because at present it only contributes to teaching specific competencies in four out of six semesters. However, medieval music is the origin of today's music reception. By studying the chants of the Middle Ages, but above all by singing medieval melodies during lessons, students can immediately perceive changes in the history of music. This conscious listening experience, although very different from the current culture of hearing, makes the changes and the continuity of medieval music come alive for the students. Furthermore, the article focusses on the history of medieval music education in the upper grade levels: in eastern Germany, only after the fall of the Berlin Wall 1989 has it been possible to study medieval music at all.
Sequential Classification of Palm Gestures Based on A* Algorithm and MLP Neural Network for Quadrocopter Control
Authors: Wodziński Marek , Krzyżanowska Aleksandra 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
This paper presents an alternative approach to the sequential data classification, based on traditional machine learning algorithms (neural networks, principal component analysis, multivariate Gaussian anomaly detector) and finding the shortest path in a directed acyclic graph, using A* algorithm with a regression-based heuristic. Palm gestures were used as an example of the sequential data and a quadrocopter was the controlled object. The study includes creation of a conceptual model and practical construction of a system using the GPU to ensure the realtime operation. The results present the classification accuracy of chosen gestures and comparison of the computation time between the CPU- and GPU-based solutions.
Interferometric Set-Up for Measuring Thermal Deformations of Precision Construction Elements
Authors: Dobosz Marek , Kożuchowski Mariusz , Ściuba Marek , Iwasińska-Kowalska Olga , Woźniak Adam 
Published: July 2017

AbstractMany precision devices, especially measuring devices, must maintain their technical parameters in variable ambient conditions, particularly at varying temperatures. Examples of such devices may be super precise balances that must keep stability and accuracy of the readings in varying ambient temperatures. Due to that fact, there is a problem of measuring the impact of temperature changes, mainly on geometrical dimensions of fundamental constructional elements of these devices. In the paper a new system for measuring micro-displacements of chosen points of a constructional element of balance with a resolution of single nanometres and accuracy at a level of fractions of micrometres has been proposed.