Modeling Temporal Structure in Music for Emotion Prediction using Pairwise Comparisons

The temporal structure of music is essential for the cognitive processes related to the emotions expressed in music. However, such temporal information is often disregarded in typical Music Information Retrieval modeling tasks of predicting higher-level cognitive or semantic aspects of music such as emotions, genre, and similarity. This paper addresses the specific hypothesis whether temporal information is essential for predicting expressed emotions in music, as a prototypical example of a cognitive aspect of music. We propose to test this hypothesis using a novel processing pipeline: 1) Extracting audio features for each track resulting in a multivariate "feature time series". 2) Using generative models to represent these time series (acquiring a complete track representation). Specifically, we explore the Gaussian Mixture model, Vector Quantization, Autoregressive model, Markov and Hidden Markov models. 3) Utilizing the generative models in a discriminative setting by selecting the Probability Product Kernel as the natural kernel for all considered track representations. We evaluate the representations using a kernel based model specifically extended to support the robust two-alternative forced choice self-report paradigm, used for eliciting expressed emotions in music. The methods are evaluated using two data sets and show increased predictive performance using temporal information, thus supporting the overall hypothesis

Electroweak Standard Model and Precision Tests

I give an introduction and overview of recent developments in high precision tests of the Standard Model. This includes a summary of Z-pole measurements, a brief account of the NuTeV result on neutrino-nucleon scattering, the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, and implications for the Higgs boson mass.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, Talk given at the X Mexican School of Particles and Fields, Playa del Carmen, Mexico, 2002; few values updated in tables (numerically insignificant), one reference adde

Untersuchungen zur trägerarmen Radiofluorierung nicht-aktivierter Aromaten mit n.c.a. [18F]Fluorid

In vivo imaging with positron emission tomography generally demands radiotracers with a high specific activity. In case of fluorine-18 the required no-carrier-added (n.c.a.) starting material is only available in form of fluoride. This and the short half-life of 109.7 minutes of the radionuclide lead to the demand of special methods for radiosyntheses. The only practical procedure for manufacturing n.c.a. [$^{18}$F]fluoro-compounds is therefore nucleophilic substitution. There is, however, still a lack of effective procedures for the labelling of electron rich aromatic molecules starting from n.c.a. [$^{18}$F]fluoride. A process for n.c.a. radiofluorination of these compounds is offered by the reaction of iodonium compounds as starting materials. In this study modern procedures for the synthesis of iodoniumsalts and -ylides were investigated. Several precursor molecules for the versatile synthetic building block 4-[$^{18}$F]fluoroiodobenzene were synthesised. In this course, a new one- pot procedure for the synthesis of iodoniumylides was developed. Further on, the syntheses of suitable iodonium precursors for two fluorophenoxy-derivatives, which are possible antidepressants, were investigated. Due to their binding profile these compounds can be considered as ligands for the serotonin reuptake transporter (SERT) and the norepinephrin reuptake transporter (NET), respectively. The preparation of appropriate iodonium salts proved to be too problematic, while the synthesis of suitable iodoniumylides could be accomplished with satisfactory yields of about 30 % and 40 %, respectively. Both compounds were labelled with n.c.a. [$^{18}$F]fluoride and deprotected to the desired targetcompounds 4-((3-[$^{18}$F]fluorophenoxy)(phenyl)methyl)piperidine and 4-((4-[$^{18}$F]fluorophenoxy)(phenyl)methyl)piperidine in radiochemical yields of about 40 % and 25 %, respectively. Those are now available for preclinical evaluation studies. Furthermore, a process for the palladium catalysed synthesis of $^{18}$F-labelled aromatic molecules was investigated. Initially a suitable reaction protocol was developed for further examination of the dependence of the radiochemical yield on the amount of added carrier. It turned out, however, that the reaction did not proceed without the addition of fluoride-carrier. For the identification of the radioactive products and the determination of the radiochemical yields suitable Chromatographic conditions for the identification of all radioactive products and the determination of their radiochemical yields via HPLC were developed. Furthermore chromatographic conditions for the isolation of the pharmacological relevant n.c.a. [$^{18}$F]fluorophenoxy-derivatives in highest purity were developed

Schopenhauer's World. The System of The World as Will and Presentation I

in recent years, the research on Schopenhauer has shown a change in the interpretation of his main work, «The World as Will and Presentation», from (1) a normative and linear instruction which guides the reader from idealism to mysticism, pessimism and nothingness to (2) value-free and independent descriptions of the world with all phenomena (like idealism, mysticism, nothingness etc.) in it. thus Schopenhauer’s main work has become an empirical or baconian approach—something like a «philosophical cosmography»—. this fundamental change of interpretation radically puts into question what Schopenhauer means by characterizing his main work as an «organic system». the present paper attempts to give an answer to this question, reviewing the self-reflexive, methodological and metaphilosophical hints which Schopenhauer gives in the first volume of his «World» («as Will and presentation»)