Joint Multi-Pitch Detection Using Harmonic Envelope Estimation for Polyphonic Music Transcription

In this paper, a method for automatic transcription of music signals based on joint multiple-F0 estimation is proposed. As a time-frequency representation, the constant-Q resonator time-frequency image is employed, while a novel noise suppression technique based on pink noise assumption is applied in a preprocessing step. In the multiple-F0 estimation stage, the optimal tuning and inharmonicity parameters are computed and a salience function is proposed in order to select pitch candidates. For each pitch candidate combination, an overlapping partial treatment procedure is used, which is based on a novel spectral envelope estimation procedure for the log-frequency domain, in order to compute the harmonic envelope of candidate pitches. In order to select the optimal pitch combination for each time frame, a score function is proposed which combines spectral and temporal characteristics of the candidate pitches and also aims to suppress harmonic errors. For postprocessing, hidden Markov models (HMMs) and conditional random fields (CRFs) trained on MIDI data are employed, in order to boost transcription accuracy. The system was trained on isolated piano sounds from the MAPS database and was tested on classic and jazz recordings from the RWC database, as well as on recordings from a Disklavier piano. A comparison with several state-of-the-art systems is provided using a variety of error metrics, where encouraging results are indicated

Robust and Skew-resistant Parallel Joins in Shared-Nothing Systems

The performance of joins in parallel database management systems is critical for data intensive operations such as querying. Since data skew is common in many applications, poorly engineered join operations result in load imbalance and performance bottlenecks. State-of-the-art methods designed to handle this problem offer significant improvements over naive implementations. However, performance could be further improved by removing the dependency on global skew knowledge and broadcasting. In this paper, we propose PRPQ (partial redistribution & partial query), an efficient and robust join algorithm for processing large-scale joins over distributed systems. We present the detailed implementation and a quantitative evaluation of our method. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed PRPQ algorithm is indeed robust and scalable under a wide range of skew conditions. Specifically, compared to the state-of-art PRPD method, we achieve 16% - 167% performance improvement and 24% - 54% less network communication under different join workloads

How can the R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry scoring system aid management of a solid renal mass?

OBJECTIVES. To investigate use of the R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score in relation to the choice of treatment and postoperative complications for renal masses. DESIGN. Case series. SETTING. A tertiary referral hospital in Hong Kong. PATIENTS. Data of patients undergoing nephrectomy were collected retrospectively from a clinical database and analysed. A R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score was allocated to each renal tumour by a blinded qualified radiologist, utilising computerised imaging systems. Patient demographics, choice of surgery (radical vs partial), and approaches (open vs minimally invasive) were analysed with respect to their R.E.N.A.L. score. RESULTS. In all, 74 patients were included during the study period, of which 38 underwent partial nephrectomy and 36 underwent radical nephrectomy. No differences between the groups were found with respect to patient demographics. There were significant differences between the partial and radical nephrectomy groups in terms of their mean nephrometry score (6.9 vs 9.3, P<0.001). The mean nephrometry sum was also significantly different in the open approach versus the minimally invasive approach in patients having partial nephrectomy (7.8 vs 6.0, P=0.001). There was no difference in the postoperative 90-day morbidity and mortality in the partial nephrectomy and radical nephrectomy groups. CONCLUSIONS. The R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score of a renal mass correlated significantly with our choice of surgery (partial vs radical) and our approach to surgery (open vs minimally invasive surgery), particularly in the partial nephrectomy group. It does not, however, correlate with postoperative complications. The nephrometry score provides a useful tool for objectively describing renal mass characteristics and enhancing better communication for the operative planning directed at renal masses.published_or_final_versio

On transformation of query scheduling strategies in distributed and heterogeneous database systems

This work considers a problem of optimal query processing in heterogeneous and distributed database systems. A global query sub- mitted at a local site is decomposed into a number of queries processed at the remote sites. The partial results returned by the queries are in- tegrated at a local site. The paper addresses a problem of an optimal scheduling of queries that minimizes time spend on data integration of the partial results into the final answer. A global data model defined in this work provides a unified view of the heterogeneous data structures located at the remote sites and a system of operations is defined to ex- press the complex data integration procedures. This work shows that the transformations of an entirely simultaneous query processing strate- gies into a hybrid (simultaneous/sequential) strategy may in some cases lead to significantly faster data integration. We show how to detect such cases, what conditions must be satisfied to transform the schedules, and how to transform the schedules into the more efficient ones

The World Trade Organization's Doha cotton initiative : a tale of two issues

Four West African nations have demanded that the World Trade Organization's Doha Development Agenda include a Cotton Initiative that involves two issues: cutting cotton subsidies and tariffs, and assisting farm productivity growth in Africa. The authors provide estimates of the potential economic impacts of (1) complete or partial removal of cotton subsidies and import tariffs globally, and (2) cotton productivity growth through the adoption of genetically modified (GM) cotton varieties. They use the latest version of the GTAP database and model. Their results confirm that-unlike for other agricultural subsidies and tariffs-for cotton it is subsidy reductions rather than tariff cuts that would make by far the largest impact. For Sub-Saharan Africa the potential gains are huge relative to the effects on that region of reforming other merchandise trade policies. And they could be more than doubled if that reform provided the cash for farmers to take advantage of the biotechnology revolution and adopt GM cotton varieties. But those potential gains, and the affordability of switching to costly GM seed, depend crucially on the extent to which high-income countries are willing to lower domestic support to their cotton farmers.Economic Theory&Research,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Tax Law,Textiles, Apparel&Leather Industry,Wholesale&Retail Trade Industry

Web Enabling a Bibliographic Database of Indian Biomedical Journals: IndMED

A Dissertation for the partial fulfillment of M.S. (Software Systems) Degree from BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, PILANI (RAJASTHAN); 2001.The project aims to provide access through web to a bibliographic database called IndMED. The database is a product of Indian Medlars Centre (IMC, a division of National Informatics Centre) and has data relating to references to articles published in India’s learned biomedical journals. The scope of this project is limited to providing a web-based user interface for database searching and developing the CGI for Web-Database Connectivity. The project was planned to ensure its scheduled completion. A survey of relevant research and technologies pertaining to Web Interface, Web-Database Connectivity and DBMS have been made and briefly described in the dissertation. Interview, Questionnaire and Observation of similar systems were utilized to determine the requirements of the proposed system. Specification of the proposed system was then based on the requirements. After the requirements and the specification of the proposed system was finalized an Analysis Model consisting of Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) and Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) was developed. Design of the system was then developed for the sub-systems – Web-Interface, Web-database Connectivity and DBMS - so the requirements and specifications are met. The Web-Interface mainly consists of html pages i.e. Simple Search Form, Minimal Search Form and Advanced Search Form and the dynamically generated by CGI the Search Result Screen. The Web-Database Connectivity sub-system consists of PERL Scripts dealing with Processing of data submitted from html forms, Variables assignment, Error Trap, Formulation of query string which can passed on to the DBMS sub-system and Html Patching of the output of the database in response to the query. The implementation of the system includes: the screens along with html code written for various search forms and generated by the CGI for the Web-Interface, Perl Scripts (IMSS.PL; IMAS.PL; IMRS.PL) for the CGI and the Database Structure, Fields included in Inverted File Index of the Database and Display Formats for the DBMS sub-system. The system thus developed was tested to meet the tests prescribed by the system specification. The final product has been integrated into the Home-page of IMC at the URL http://indmed.nic.in . A user help document for searching is also included. The system developed has scope for future research and refinement in regard to relevancy ranking, federated searching, links to full text articles and other material relevant to the user query available on the Internet along with the results from IndMED

Improve a technique for searching and indexing images utilizing content investigation

In this research, algorithms were developed to assess the similarities between two or more images and reduce the time spent on searching for them based on the analysis of color intensity diversity and (histogram analysis), besides analyzing the partial proportion of the color component of the images. These algorithms can be used to search for images in the database, systems, and computer networks. This experiment was carried out using a computer program that was programmed using C Builder. The results were analyzed and illustrated with multiple examples. The results showed that the time spent in the searching process depends on several criteria. The most important of these criteria is the number of images used in the search process, number and method of processing the images involved in the search process, in addition to evaluating the time spent in the search process of the three algorithms whose effectiveness has been evaluated. (The best algorithm according to results and performance)