In recent years, the music has become more popular due to the evolution of the technology. Various kinds of music around us become more complexity and huge. This explosive growth in the music has generated the urgent need for new techniques and tools that can intelligently and automatically transform the music into useful information, and classify the music into correct music groups precisely. The rhythm query is the fundamental technique in music genre classification and content-based retrieval, which are crucial to multimedia applications. Recently, Christodoulakis et al. has proposed the CIRS algorithm that can be used to classify music duration sequences according to rhythms. In the CIRS algorithm, a rhythm is represented by a sequence of ¡§Quick¡¨ (Q) and ¡§Slow¡¨ (S) symbols, which corresponds to the (relative) duration of notes, such that S = 2Q. In order to classify music by rhythms, the CIRS algorithm locates the MaxCover which is the maximum-length substring of the music duration sequence, which can be covered (overlapping or consecutively) by the rhythm query continuously. During the matching step, one S symbol in the rhythm query can be regarded as two consecutive Q symbols in the duration sequence, but the two consecutive Q symbols in the rhythm query can not be combined as one S symbol in the duration sequence. This definition causes the difficulty for designing the algorithm. The CIRS algorithm contains four steps and repeat Steps 2, 3, and 4 to get local MaxCover for each different duration value of the music duration sequence. Finally, the global MaxCover is computed. We observe that it will generate unnecessary results repeatedly among Steps 2, 3, and 4. Therefore, in this thesis, to avoid repeatedly processing Steps 2, 3, and 4 for each different duration value, we propose the JMC (Jumping-by-MaxCover) algorithm which provides a pruning strategy to find the MaxCover incrementally, resulting in the reducing of the processing cost. In fact, we can make use of the relationship between the MaxCover MX founded by a different duration value X, and use the duration sequences cut by such a different duration value X to reduce the unnecessary process for the other different duration value Y , where Y < X. To make use of this property to reduce the processing time, we propose a cut-sequence structure and update it incrementally to compute the final global MaxCover. In this way, we can skip many steps and find the same answer of the CIRS algorithm. From our simulation results, we show that the running time of the JMC algorithm could be shorter than that of the CIRS algorithm. When the largest different duration value is uniformly distributed in the duration sequence, the running time can be reduced hugely, which is the best case of our proposed JMC algorithm.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

The participants in this qualitative study were parents of children in grades 1-3 who attended an elementary school in a low-income, predominantly Latino urban neighborhood. The children were identified as struggling readers through teacher nomination and standardized assessments, and they received reading and writing intervention through an in-school pullout program and through a once-a-week, afterschool University-sponsored tutoring program. The purpose of this study was to gather the views of parents about their children's experiences in literacy learning and intervention, parents’ perspective of their role in their child’s literacy learning, as well as the ways parents described their child as a literacy learner. Fourteen parents were interviewed regarding literacy practices in their homes, views of school literacy instruction, need for information on helping their children at home, and suggestions for improving home-school connections. Follow-up / text

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Slow sand filters (SSF) have been used to treat surface water to drinking water standards for over a century. Today many cities, including London still treat surface waters to drinking water standards, however because there are viruses that are not efficiently removed by a slow sand filter and are not killed by chlorine, communities have turned to the use of micro filtration and/or reverse osmosis to provide safe drinking water. These technologies are much more efficient if organics are removed and turbidity reduced to less than 1 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU). The greenhouse industry is another potential user of slow sand filters. They are not able to recycle irrigation drainage water without it being treated to reduce bacteria, virus, and fungi. The objective of this research was to develop management strategies for SSF that specifically meet the needs of entities using SSF for pretreatment of potable water or use in a greenhouse. This data was used to test a scour system that resulted in scouring 80 percent of the organic layer in the filter and suspending the solids for 40 minutes. A conceptual design was done for a full scale SSF that took advantage of the scour and suspension data to clean the SSF at the end of a run cycle. SSF were able to consistently produce water with a turbidity less than 1 (NTU) and with the infiltration capacity of 0.27 m³m⁻². For greenhouse effluent a 1,000 square meter greenhouse that is discharging 3,600 L d⁻¹ of drainage water would require a 12.6 m² SSF, and the SSF for the community requiring treatment of 4.7 million liters per day of raw water was 730 m². The innovative cleaning system based on an air/water jet was developed to clean the SSF. Experiments were run to determine the amount of time that the solids were suspended and a scour system developed to exceed these times. The entire time for cleaning and recovery of the SSF was an average of 118 minutes for the greenhouse system and 170 minutes for the SSF serving a small community.

Properties of coherent media in the regime of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) are studied. A study of the shape and width of the EIT resonance is presented for coherent media with buffer gas. Observation of an absorption-like resonance for large one-photon detunings in a medium with buffer gas and its properties are shown. The regime of ``slow'' and ``fast'' group velocities are studied. Observation of narrow resonances with a phase broadened probe field is presented, and possible application of this regime are outlined.

No description available.

The cow/calf phase of production represents a large expense in the production of beef, and efficient beef cows use fewer resources to obtain the same outcome in a sustainable environment. The objective of study 1 was to utilize a mechanistic nutrition model to estimate metabolizable energy requirement (MER) of grazing cows based on changes in cow body weight (BW) and fatness measurements (body condition score, BCS) along with calf age and BW, as well as forage quality and quantity. In addition, an energy efficiency index (EEI), computed as MER of the cow and calf divided by calf weaning BW, was used to rank cows within a herd based on their efficiency of utilizing available forage to meet their maintenance requirements and support calf growth. Data were collected from one herd of approximately 140 Santa Gertrudis cows over a four-year period, and analyzed per calving cycle, conception to weaning. The model's estimation of EEI appears to be moderately heritable and repeatable across years, and efficient cows might have greater peak milk and be leaner. In typical feedlot diets, the rates of ruminal fermentation of highly processed grains and the hydrolysis rate of urea may not match. Asynchronous utilization of carbohydrate and protein would result in some portion of the urea unknot being utilized by the ruminal microbes and ultimately the animal. The use of slow-release urea (SRU) products offers a unique opportunity to synchronize ruminal fermentation of carbohydrate with non-protein nitrogen (NPN) release rate. Two experiments were conducted to examine the impact of source, urea or SRU, and level of dietary NPN on 1) performance and carcass characteristics and 2) N balance of finishing cattle. Steers had lower initial F:G when SRU was used as the only source of feed N (treatment 3), suggesting that SRU may replace both NPN and true protein feeds in finishing cattle diets. High levels of either NPN source had greater N intake and urinary N excretion, as well as N absorption and no major differences were observed between SRU and urea, suggesting that SRU can replace urea at different levels of N intake.

Much work has been accomplished in the preparation of life science curricular materials for average and above average students at the secondary level; however, very little has been prepared for slow learners. The number of slow learners attending the public schools is substantial enough to have encouraged many public schools to establish homogeneously grouped classes specifically for these students. With the establishment of special classes for slow learners the need for materials specifically de. signed for these students becomes apparent.In answer to this need the present research undertaking was instituted. The research focused upon the development and testing of an eight-week unit of study in life science and evolved through three phases: (1) preparation, writing, and assembly of a student text and a teacher's handbook; (2) preliminary testing during a pilot study; and (3) comprehensive testing with five classes of homogeneously grouped slow learners.

This research aimed to address the knowledge gaps in the literature regarding the removal of waterborne pathogens (viruses and protozoa) by modified multistage slow sand filtration. In the current study, two pilot-scale multistage slow sand filtration systems were operated continuously for over two years. The pilot systems treated agricultural- and urban-impacted raw river water of variable quality with turbidity peaks over 300 NTU and seasonal cold temperatures <2??C. The first system (Pilot 1) consisted of two independent trains that included pre-ozonation, shallow-bed upflow gravel roughing filtration, and shallow-bed slow sand filtration. Pilot 1 was a pilot-scale version of an innovative, commercially available full-scale system. The second system (Pilot 2) included a full-depth upflow gravel roughing filter, a full-depth slow sand filter, and a second shallow-depth slow sand filter in series. The SSFs of both pilots were operated at high hydraulic loading rates (typically 0.4 m/h) at the upper limit of the literature recommended range (0.05 to 0.4 m/h). Both pilot systems provided excellent turbidity removal despite the high filtration rates. Effluent turbidity of all multistage SSF pilot systems were within the regulated effluent limits in Ontario for full-scale SSFs (below 1 NTU at least 95% of the time and never exceeded 3 NTU), despite raw water turbidity peaks over 100 NTU. The roughing filters contributed to approximately 60-80% of the full-train turbidity removal, compared to and 20-40% for the slow sand filters. On average, the second slow sand filter in pilot 2 provided almost no additional turbidity removal. The slow sand filter run lengths were short because of frequent high raw water turbidity, with about 50-80% of the runs in the range of 1-3 weeks. To prevent excessive SSF clogging and maintenance, filtration rates should be decreased during periods of high turbidity. Seven Cryptosporidium and Giardia challenge tests were conducted on the slow sand filters of both pilot systems at varying filtration rates (0.4 or 0.8 m/h), temperatures (2 to 25??C), and biological maturities (4 to 20 months). Removal of oocysts and cysts were good regardless of sand depth, hydraulic loading rate, and water temperature in the ranges tested. Average removals in the SSFs ranged from 2.6 to >4.4 logs for Cryptosporidium oocysts and ranged from >3.8 to >4.5 logs for Giardia cysts. This was consistent with findings in the literature, where oocyst and cyst removals of >4 logs have been reported. Cryptosporidium oocyst removals improved with increased biological maturity of the slow sand filters. At a water temperature of 2??C, average removal of oocysts and cysts were 3.9 and >4.5 logs, respectively, in a biologically mature SSF. Doubling the filtration rate from 0.4 to 0.8 m/h led to a marginal decrease in oocyst removals. Sand depths in the range tested (37-100 cm) had no major impact on oocyst and cyst removals, likely because they are removed primarily in the upper section of slow sand filter beds by straining. In general, good oocyst and cyst removals can be achieved using shallower slow sand filter bed depths and higher filtration rates than recommended in the literature. There are very few studies in the literature that quantify virus removal by slow sand filtration, especially at high filtration rates and shallow bed depths. There are no studies that report virus removal by slow sand filtration below 10??C. As such, 16 MS2 bacteriophage challenge tests were conducted at varying water temperatures (<2 to >20??C) and filtration rates (0.1 vs. 0.4 m/h) between February and June 2006 on biologically mature slow sand filters with varying bed depths (40 vs. 90 cm). Biologically mature roughing filters were also seeded with MS2. Average MS2 removals ranged from 0.2 to 2.2 logs in the SSFs and 0.1 to 0.2 logs in the RFs under all conditions tested. Virus removal by slow sand filtration was strongly dependant on hydraulic loading rate, sand depth, and water temperature. Virus removal was greater at a sand depth of 90 cm vs. 40 cm, at an HLR of 0.1 m/h vs. 0.4 m/h, and at warm (20-24??C) vs. cold (<2-10??C) water temperatures when sufficient warm water acclimation time was provided. Increased sand depth likely increased MS2 removal because of greater detention time for predation and greater contact opportunities for attachment to sand grains and biofilms. A lower HLR would also increase MS2 removal by increasing detention time, in addition to decreasing shear and promoting attachment to filter media and biofilms. Greater MS2 removal at warmer water temperatures was attributed to improved biological activity in the filters. Schmutzdecke scraping was found to have only a minor and short-term effect on MS2 removals. Virus removal can be optimized by providing deep SSF beds and operating at low filtration rates. Virus removal may be impaired in cold water, which could affect the viability of using SSF/MSF at northern climates if communities do not use disinfection or oxidation. As a stand-alone process, slow sand filtration (with or without roughing filtration) may not provide complete virus removal and should be combined with other treatment processes such as disinfection and oxidation to protect human health.