Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deep Learning for Distant Speech Recognition

Deep learning is an emerging technology that is considered one of the most promising directions for reaching higher levels of artificial intelligence. Among the other achievements, building computers that understand speech represents a crucial leap towards intelligent machines. Despite the great efforts of the past decades, however, a natural and robust human-machine speech interaction still appears to be out of reach, especially when users interact with a distant microphone in noisy and reverberant environments. The latter disturbances severely hamper the intelligibility of a speech signal, making Distant Speech Recognition (DSR) one of the major open challenges in the field. This thesis addresses the latter scenario and proposes some novel techniques, architectures, and algorithms to improve the robustness of distant-talking acoustic models. We first elaborate on methodologies for realistic data contamination, with a particular emphasis on DNN training with simulated data. We then investigate on approaches for better exploiting speech contexts, proposing some original methodologies for both feed-forward and recurrent neural networks. Lastly, inspired by the idea that cooperation across different DNNs could be the key for counteracting the harmful effects of noise and reverberation, we propose a novel deep learning paradigm called “network of deep neural networks”. The analysis of the original concepts were based on extensive experimental validations conducted on both real and simulated data, considering different corpora, microphone configurations, environments, noisy conditions, and ASR tasks.
Inhibition of Dehydration-Induced Water Intake by Glucocorticoids Is Associated with Activation of Hypothalamic Natriuretic Peptide Receptor-A in Rat

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) provides a potent defense mechanism against volume overload in mammals. Its primary receptor, natriuretic peptide receptor-A (NPR-A), is localized mostly in the kidney, but also is found in hypothalamic areas involved in body fluid volume regulation. Acute glucocorticoid administration produces potent diuresis and natriuresis, possibly by acting in the renal natriuretic peptide system. However, chronic glucocorticoid administration attenuates renal water and sodium excretion. The precise mechanism underlying this paradoxical phenomenon is unclear. We assume that chronic glucocorticoid administration may activate natriuretic peptide system in hypothalamus, and cause volume depletion by inhibiting dehydration-induced water intake. Volume depletion, in turn, compromises renal water excretion. To test this postulation, we determined the effect of dexamethasone on dehydration-induced water intake and assessed the expression of NPR-A in the hypothalamus. The rats were deprived of water for 24 hours to have dehydrated status. Prior to free access to water, the water-deprived rats were pretreated with dexamethasone or vehicle. Urinary volume and water intake were monitored. We found that dexamethasone pretreatment not only produced potent diuresis, but dramatically inhibited the dehydration-induced water intake. Western blotting analysis showed the expression of NPR-A in the hypothalamus was dramatically upregulated by dexamethasone. Consequently, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (the second messenger for the ANP) content in the hypothalamus was remarkably increased. The inhibitory effect of dexamethasone on water intake presented in a time- and dose-dependent manner, which emerged at least after 18-hour dexamethasone pretreatment. This effect was glucocorticoid receptor (GR) mediated and was abolished by GR antagonist RU486. These results indicated a possible physiologic role for glucocorticoids in the hypothalamic control of water intake and revealed that the glucocorticoids can act centrally, as well as peripherally, to assist in the normalization of extracellular fluid volume.
Mutant Escherichia coli Heat-Labile Toxin B Subunit That Separates Toxoid-Mediated Signaling and Immunomodulatory Action from Trafficking and Delivery Functions

ABSTRACT The homopentameric B-subunit components of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (EtxB) and cholera toxin (CtxB) possess the capacity to enter mammalian cells and to activate cell-signaling events in leukocytes that modulate immune cell function. Both properties have been attributed to the ability of the B subunits to bind to GM1-ganglioside receptors, a ubiquitous glycosphingolipid found in the plasma membrane. Here we describe the properties of EtxB(H57S), a mutant B subunit with a His→Ser substitution at position 57. The mutant was found to be severely defective in inducing leukocyte signaling, as shown by failure to (i) trigger caspase 3-mediated CD8+-T-cell apoptosis, (ii) activate nuclear translocation of NF-κB in Jurkat T cells, (iii) induce a potent anti-B-subunit response in mice, or (iv) serve as a mucosal adjuvant. However, its GM1 binding, cellular uptake, and delivery functions remained intact. This was further validated by the finding that EtxB(H57S) was as effective as EtxB in delivering a conjugated model class I epitope into the major histocompatibility complex class I pathway of a dendritic cell line. These observations imply that GM1 binding alone is not sufficient to trigger the signaling events responsible for the potent immunomodulatory properties of EtxB. Moreover, they demonstrate that its signaling properties play no role in EtxB uptake and trafficking. Thus, EtxB(H57S) represents a novel tool for evaluating the complex cellular interactions and signaling events occurring after receptor interaction, as well as offering an alternative means of delivering attached peptides in the absence of the potent immunomodulatory signals induced by wild-type B subunits.
A nationwide prehospital stroke survey.

OBJECTIVES To identify deficiencies in stroke knowledge among prehospital providers. METHODS A nationwide multiple-choice survey was sent to 689 paramedics (EMT-Ps) and 294 advanced EMTs (EMT-Is) from a random selection of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians database. Of the 23 questions, five addressed demographic information, four quantity of training, five general knowledge, 6 and seven management, and two open-ended questions addressed the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of stroke. The EMT-P and EMT-I answers were compared using chi-square analysis or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS Of the 355 (36%) respondents, 256 (72%) were EMT-Ps and 99 (28%) were EMT-Is. Virtually all the EMT-Ps (99%) and EMT-Is (98%) knew that a stroke injures the brain, but only 199 (78%) of the EMT-Ps and 47 (47%) of the EMT-Is correctly defined a transient ischemic attack (TIA) (p < 0.001). Slurred speech, weakness/ paralysis, and altered mental status were the three most commonly cited symptoms of stroke by both groups. The EMT-Ps were more likely to recognize that dextrose is potentially harmful to stroke patients [EMT-P = 216 (85%), EMT-I = 71 (72%), p = 0.005]; 169 (66%) of the EMT-Ps and 75 (76%) of the EMT-Is felt that elevated blood pressures should be lowered in the prehospital setting. Only 93 (36%) of the EMT-Ps and 22 (22%) of the EMT-Is knew that tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) must be given within three hours of symptom onset (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION Most EMS providers are knowledgeable about the symptoms of stroke but are unaware of the therapeutic window for thrombolysis and the recommended avoidance of prehospital blood pressure reduction. In addition, further education is needed regarding TIAs.
The role of common stimulus functions in the development of equivalence classes.

College students were exposed to training designed to teach nine simple discriminations, such that sets of three arbitrary visual stimuli acquired common functions. For seven of eight participants, three 3-member contingency classes resulted. When the same stimuli were presented in a match-to-sample procedure under test conditions, four participants demonstrated equivalence-consistent responding, matching all stimuli from the same contingency class. Test performance for two participants was systematically controlled by other variables, and for a final participant was unsystematic. Exposure to a yes/no test yielded equivalence-consistent performance for one participant where the match-to-sample test had not. Implications for the treatment of equivalence as a unified, integrated phenomenon are discussed.
Detection of Sporadic Cases of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Infection in China Using Immunoassays Based on Recombinant Open Reading Frame 2 and 3 Polypeptides from HEV Genotype 4

ABSTRACT We reported previously on the complete sequence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 4, isolated from patients with sporadic cases of acute HEV infection in China. At least eight HEV genotypes have now been described worldwide, and further isolates await classification. Current immunoassays for the detection of anti-HEV antibodies are based on polypeptides from genotypes 1 and 2 only and may be inadequate for the reliable detection of other genotypes. Because genotypes 1 and 4 predominate in China, we wished to investigate the antigenic reactivities of HEV genotype 4 proteins. Four overlapping regions of open reading frame 2 (ORF2) (FB5, amino acids [aa] 1 to 130; E4, aa 67 to 308; F2-2, aa 288 to 461; E5, aa 414 to 672) and the entire ORF3 product were expressed in Escherichia coli as fusion proteins. Enzyme immunoassays based on each of the five purified polypeptides were evaluated with sera from patients with sporadic cases of acute HEV infection. Individual immunoassays derived from HEV genotype 4 detected more cases of acute hepatitis E than a commercial assay. Some serum samples, which were positive for anti-HEV immunoglobulin G only by assays based on HEV genotype 4, were positive for HEV RNA by reverse transcription-PCR. Polypeptide FB5, from the N terminus of ORF2, had the greatest immunoreactivity with sera from patients with acute hepatitis E. These data indicate that the N terminus of ORF2 may provide epitopes which are highly reactive with acute-phase sera and that assays based on genotypes 1 and 2 alone may be inadequate for the detection of HEV infection in China, where sporadic cases of HEV infection are caused predominantly by HEV genotypes 4 and 1.
Calibration of the distance scale from galactic Cepheids - I. Calibration based on the GFG sample

New estimates of the distances of 36 nearby galaxies are presented based on accurate distances of galactic Cepheids obtained by Gieren et al. (1998) from the geometrical Barnes-Evans method. The concept of “sosie” is applied to extend the distance determination to extragalactic Cepheids without assuming the linearity of the PL relation. Doing so, the distance moduli are obtained in a straightforward way. The correction for extinction is made using two photometric bands ( V and I ) according to the principles introduced by Freedman & Madore (1990). Finally, the statistical bias due to the incompleteness of the sample is corrected according to the precepts introduced by Teerikorpi (1987) without introducing any free parameters (except the distance modulus itself in an iterative scheme). The final distance moduli depend on the adopted extinction ratio ${R_V}/{R_I}$ and on the limiting apparent magnitude of the sample. A comparison with the distance moduli recently published by the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project (HSTKP) team reveals a fair agreement when the same ratio ${R_V}/{R_I}$ is used but shows a small discrepancy at large distance. In order to bypass the uncertainty due to the metallicity effect it is suggested to consider only galaxies having nearly the same metallicity as the calibrating Cepheids (i.e. Solar metallicity). The internal uncertainty of the distances is about 0.1 mag but the total uncertainty may reach 0.3 mag.
On Emergency Contraception among Female Students of Haramaya University, Ethiopia: Surveying the Level of Knowledge and Attitude

Unwanted pregnancy (UP), which may lead to unsafe abortion, is common among young women. Unwanted pregnancy can occur due to missed pills, forced sex, method failures, and condom breakage. To prevent such problem, Emergency Contraceptives (EC) are the only method that can be used after unprotected sex. This cross-sectional study has thus aimed at investigating the level of awareness, knowledge and attitudes of young female students of Haramaya University (HU) on EC. The study generated the required data from a representative sample of 572 female students drawn from the study population through multistage sampling. Data were collected using survey questionnaire, and subsequent analysis was done using simple descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis (logistic regression model). The findings of the study revealed that 47.6% of the respondents had ever heard about EC; 25.7 % had good knowledge of EC, and 76.5% had favorable attitude toward EC. In the multivariate analysis, certain variables have become significant predictors of awareness of EC including: age, previous place of residence, religion, grade level, knowing other methods preventing unwanted pregnancy, sex education, chewing ‘Khat’, and consuming alcohol. Similarly, religion, grade level, father’s educational level, knowing other methods of preventing unwanted pregnancy, and currently chewing Khat were found to significantly predict attitude toward EC. Finally, the study has forwarded some recommendations based on the key findings.
Key success factors of collaborative planning processes

Building design and planning is a typical instance of coordination and collaboration processes, where experts work together in fulfilling their own distinct planning tasks that build the basis for the realization of the joint building project. Increasing requirements on building performance, like resources and energy efficiency, resulting in growing project complexity call for a holistic view of the project rather than a fragmented one, as strengths in one domain cannot easily offset weaknesses in others. Traditional sequential planning processes fall short in fulfilling this requirement. This study compares sequential and integrated building design in a large laboratory experiment with student participants. The focus of the study was to examine the impact of personality traits on team performance in different planning procedures in a building planning experiment. We identified that the success of design processes relies on both skills and the personality traits of the team members. In the integrated plan.
Attributions for Health‐Related Physical Activity

Tenets of Weiner's (1985, 1986) attribution theory were examined in the context of being active enough for health benefits, including associations between attributions, emotions, and future expectations. Participants completed questionnaires assessing activity, perceived success/failure to be active enough for health benefits, attributions, emotions, and future expectancy. Perception of being active enough for health benefits was associated with more internal, personally controllable, and stable attributions. Support was found for relationships between perceived outcome and emotions, but not for attributions and emotions. Finally, a positive relationship was found between stability of attributions and certainty of achieving similar future activity outcomes. Given the interest in promoting activity for health, examining attributions for being sufficiently active for health may be considered an important advance.
Examining the Parent-Young Adult Relationship During the Transition to College: The Impact of Mismatched Expectations About Autonomy on College Student Adjustment

The present study examined individuation and expectations for autonomous behavior (EAB) with incoming college freshmen and their parents. To test the theory that greater mismatch between young adults and their parents about EAB would be associated with more negative adjustment to college, Collins’ (1990) Expectancy-Violation Model was applied. Data were initially collected with online questionnaires from incoming college freshmen and one of their parents before the transition to college. Follow-up data (W2) were collected three months later to assess adjustment to college. Individuation was measured with the Late Adolescence Individuation Questionnaire; EAB and reports of actual autonomous behavior were assessed with a measure based on the Psychological Separation Inventory. College student adjustment was measured with indicators of psychological well-being (i.e., psychosomatic symptoms, depressive symptoms, positive affect) and adaptation to college (i.e., college self-efficacy, satisfaction with college, and anticipated fall college grades). Open-ended data were collected from young adults and their parents describing topics of autonomy behavior where they perceived disagreement. A MANOVA indicated that there were significant differences between the four individuation groups (a) individuated (high connectedness and high separateness), (b) pseudoautonomous (low connectedness and high separateness), (c) dependent (high connectedness and low separateness), and (d) ambiguous (low connectedness and low separateness) on the young adults’ adjustment to college. Post-hoc planned comparisons
Characteristics of Electromagnetic Radiation of a Railgun at the Final Firing Stage

The navy railgun prototype propels its projectile with Lorentz force and is capable of delivering ~Mach 7 speed for~15-kg projectiles. The source of the Lorentz force is a gigawatt-class pulsed power supply (PPS) that delivers ~1 MA current with~10 kV voltage into the railgun load. The energy efhciency of the railgun is usually less than 40%: a considerable amount of energy is released as heat, and a small amount as electromagnetic energy. The electromagnetic radiation of the railgun, although mostly shielded by its metallic cover before hring, may leak out at the hnal stage when the projectile leaves the barrel and can be a potential electromagnetic compatibility issue for onboard electronics. We analyze the electromagnetic (EM) radiation coming from the rails and armature of the railgun with commercial software using the multilevel fast multipole method or higher order basis functions in the method of moment and evaluate the effects on electromagnetic radiation by adding one key component at a time in four models. Three held probes are set up 10 m from the muzzle, and four near helds are plotted on top of the muzzle. The near-held intensities and farheld radiation patterns at the hnal hring stage are presented and the frequency response is simulated. We found that most far-held patterns are directed toward the breech direction due to impedance mismatch between the PPS and railgun, and Eheld probes show stronger intensity on the z-axis. Outer metal casing helps concentrate the electromagnetic energy inside the gun, and dielectric material absorbs the held within. The E-held inside the gun is well below the breakdown threshold of common dielectric insulators. Strong radiation may occur if the railgun voltage spectrum contains a large megahertz component.
Divide to survive: myocardial regeneration and functional recovery after cell cycle activation in injured hearts.

Necrotic and apoptotic cell deaths are the two main causes of the heart's loss of cardiac tissue and haemodynamic function after myocardial infarction (MI). The loss of functional cardiac myocytes through necrotic/apoptotic processes during ischaemia in the absence of de novo cell proliferation has been postulated to be a fundamental cause of ventricular remodelling, increased tissue fibrosis, and diminished ventricular pump function. In the past decade, several approaches have been tested hoping to increase the number of myocytes after MI, including transplantation of progenitor or adult cells,1 mobilization of endogenous stem cells,2 and cell cycle activation.3 Each of these approaches demonstrated some degree of myocardial functional improvement, with cell cycle activation being the most promising one.3 Although there is evidence for adult cardiomyocyte proliferation,4 it is clear that this process is not capable of fully recovering the … *Corresponding author. Tel: +55 41 3316 3230/3237; fax: +55 41 3316 3267. E-mail address : adcosta{at}tecpar.br; adtcosta{at}gmail.com
Self-directed learning, lifelong learning and transformative learning in the Society for Creative Anachronism

This study examines the connection between leisure group participation and learning activities undertaken by participants in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), a medieval recreationist group. The thesis of this connection was developed through the researcher's observations during SCA participation. The intent of this study is to understand adult learning from the self-directed learning, lifelong learning, and -transformative learning components derived from participant's SCA experiences. This qualitative study was conducted by interviewing eight active SCA participants, two in each participation theme of historical research, artistic representation, performance, and martial skills. Informants' responses demonstrated an integration of their leisure activity with learning. The contextualization of learning as both a primary activity and a necessary support to participation, places learning at the heart of participants' SCA related activities. The positive descriptions of learning activities, descriptive terms of ownership, and situating learning as an enjoyable activity engaged for the pleasure of the experience, provides adult educators with a fascinating glimpse of willing and engaged adult learners pursuing lifelong learning outside of the traditional educational structure. Two themes emerged during the interviews. First, bonding with others provided the motivation to continue their activities. Secondly, a feeling of commitment and helonging defined their enjoyment and satisfaction with SCA participation. The clear implications are that adult educators can create effective learning communities by developing educational structures that engage adult learners with meaningful social interaction.
The nature of work family conflict: A review and agenda for future research

The main purpose of this research was to identify gaps in the existing literature on work family conflict from the past 30 years, and develop a viable research plan for further research. Research papers from peer-reviewed journals were collected from multiple databases including Proquest, Business Source Premier (EBSCOhost), Expanded Academic (Gale), Emerald, ISI Web Science, the Sloan Work and Family Research Network at Boston College, and Google Scholar. Full text papers published in English in the last three decades were included in this study. The collected papers were then classified and analysed using thematic content analysis. Factors influencing work family conflict, their consequences and the relevant constructs were systematically identified and summarised. The gaps in the extant literature from the past 30 years were identified and these were subsumed under a regional gap-theoretical cultural perspective, a measurement gap, cross cultural studies, organisational responsiveness, environmental factors and gender role theory. The present study serves as a springboard for future studies and theory building on the interaction between the work and family domains. This research is original in its nature as it has identified major strands of the extant literature on work family conflict and ipso facto it can guide research scholars towards the unknown terrain of the work family sphere. This research urges policy makers, practitioners and members of organisations to digest this knowledge and it aims to make them aware of the overarching area of work and family in the contemporary world. The major limitation of this study is the Tower of Babel Bias, to wit, research studies not published in English were excluded from this study.