Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of speech masking on neural tracking of acoustic and semantic features of natural speech

Listening environments contain background sounds that mask speech and lead to communication challenges. Sensitivity to slow acoustic fluctuations in speech can help segregate speech from background noise. Semantic context can also facilitate speech perception in noise, for example, by enabling prediction of upcoming words. However, not much is known about how different degrees of background masking affect the neural processing of acoustic and semantic features during naturalistic speech listening. In the current electroencephalography (EEG) study, participants listened to engaging, spoken stories masked at different levels of multi-talker babble to investigate how neural activity in response to acoustic and semantic features changes with acoustic challenges, and how such effects relate to speech intelligibility. The pattern of neural response amplitudes associated with both acoustic and semantic speech features across masking levels was U-shaped, such that amplitudes were largest for moderate masking levels. This U-shape may be due to increased attentional focus when speech comprehension is challenging, but manageable. The latency of the neural responses increased linearly with increasing background masking, and neural latency change associated with acoustic processing most closely mirrored the changes in speech intelligibility. Finally, tracking responses related to semantic dissimilarity remained robust until severe speech masking (−3 dB SNR). The current study reveals that neural responses to acoustic features are highly sensitive to background masking and decreasing speech intelligibility, whereas neural responses to semantic features are relatively robust, suggesting that individuals track the meaning of the story well even in moderate background sound.
New to Ehretiaceae: Keraunea. Re-evaluation of a genus of climbers from Brazil

We definitively place Keraunea, a genus of showy forest climbers from remnants of the Mata Atlântica of Brazil, in Ehretiaceae. Previously Keraunea had been ascribed to Convolvulaceae based on morphology, or divided between Malpighiaceae and Ehretiaceae based on molecular analyses (polyphyletic). Keraunea is morphologically anomalous in the Ehretiaceae, having fruits which are held in the centre of a large wing-like bract by adnation of the pedicel, and due the stem-twining habit of some species. However, morphologically Keraunea shares two apomorphies with monotypic Cortesia Cav. , halophytic shrubs of Argentina: 1) “two parted endocarps” (the fruit contains two endocarps each with two 1-seeded cells, while four 1-seeded endocarps are plesiomorphic in Ehretiaceae) and 2) a large bract that subtends the flower (absence of bracts is plesiomorphic in Ehretiaceae). A combined tree using four markers (ITS, trnL-F, rbcL and matK) places the three species of Keraunea sampled unambiguously in a clade with Ehretia + Cortesia + Halgania and monophyly for Keraunea is shown with high support. In an ITS tree Keraunea is sister to Cortesia with low support. We expand the generic description of Keraunea including the first account of the internal fruit structures and the seed, and present new data on the vegetative architecture including variation within the genus, some species being stem twiners while one species at least, is described as a scandent shrub. Keraunea lombardiana, previously included within K. brasiliensis, is formally described from Minas Gerais and Bahia as the third species of the genus and both these species are described. In all five species are recognised but two, known to us only from digital images, are not formally described because sufficiently detailed descriptions cannot be made. All five species are mapped, and provisional conservation assessments are recorded, of either Endangered or Critically Endangered. The state of Bahia, with three species, has the highest species diversity, mainly in dry forest. Three species appear confined to moist coastal forest, extending southwards from Bahia to the state of Rio de Janeiro. Keraunea remains incompletely known. Not one of the species has both anthetic flowers and fruits described. Studies on pollen, germination, anatomy, embryology and phytochemisty are entirely lacking. Field observations of pollination, seed dispersal and phenology are also required. However, the most urgent requirement is undoubtedly a formal taxonomic revision based on a full herbarium search and targeted fieldwork, with full IUCN 2012 extinction risk assessments for each taxon. This is urgent because it seems that all the taxa that we present in this paper (and more that can be expected to be found) appear to be highly range restricted and generally not to occur in protected areas, and so appear to be highly threatened.
Synergistic induction of blood-brain barrier properties

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) models derived from human stem cells are powerful tools to improve our understanding of cerebrovascular diseases and to facilitate drug development for the human brain. Yet providing stem cell-derived endothelial cells with the right signaling cues to acquire BBB characteristics while also retaining their vascular identity remains challenging. Here, we show that the simultaneous activation of cyclic AMP and Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and inhibition of the TGF-β pathway in endothelial cells robustly induce BBB properties in vitro. To target this novel interaction, we present a small molecule cocktail named cARLA, which synergistically enhances barrier tightness in a range of BBB models across species. Mechanistically, we reveal that the three pathways converge on Wnt/β-catenin signaling to mediate the effect of cARLA via the tight junction protein claudin-5. We demonstrate that cARLA shifts the gene expressional profile of human stem cell-derived endothelial cells towards the in vivo brain endothelial signature, with a higher glycocalyx density and efflux pump activity, lower rates of endocytosis and a characteristic endothelial response to proinflammatory cytokines. Finally, we illustrate how cARLA can improve the predictive value of human BBB models regarding the brain penetration of drugs and targeted nanoparticles. Due to its synergistic effect, high reproducibility and ease of use, cARLA has the potential to advance drug development for the human brain by improving BBB models across laboratories. Significance Statement The blood-brain barrier (BBB) hinders drug delivery to the brain and is implicated in neurological diseases. To better understand these processes in humans, there is a need for culture models that mimic the complexity of the BBB. However, state-of-the-art human BBB models either suffer from a non-physiological, mixed epithelial-endothelial identity or have weak barrier tightness, which greatly limits their usability. We identified a molecule combination that synergistically enhances barrier tightness in several in vitro models and induces complex BBB properties in human stem cell-derived endothelial cells by targeting a novel link between three signaling pathways. The molecule combination has the potential to improve BBB culture models across laboratories to advance both basic research and drug development for the human brain.
Helminth infection impacts hematopoiesis

Helminth infections are common in animals. However, the impact of a helminth infection on the function of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and other hematopoietic cells has not been comprehensively defined. Here we describe the hematopoietic response to infection of mice with Schistosoma mansoni, a parasitic flatworm which causes schistosomiasis. We analyzed the frequency or number of hematopoietic cell types in the bone marrow, spleen, liver, thymus, and blood, and observed multiple hematopoietic changes caused by infection. Schistosome infection impaired bone marrow HSC function after serial transplantation. Functional HSCs were present in the infected liver. Infection blocked bone marrow erythropoiesis and augmented spleen erythropoiesis, observations consistent with the anemia and splenomegaly prevalent in schistosomiasis patients. This work defines the hematopoietic response to schistosomiasis, a debilitating disease afflicting more than 200 million people, and identifies impairments in HSC function and erythropoiesis.
Illegal school exclusion in English education policy

ABSTRACT This article draws upon legislation, policy, guidance and recently published research in order to explore why illegal exclusion, sometimes known as off rolling, is an under-researched area of education, and what the most significant barriers are to gaining a clearer understanding of the scale of, and reasons behind, the practice. In doing so, the article draws attention to policy obfuscation, inconsistent definitions and a desire to ‘name and shame’ offending schools. Furthermore, the contention is that school exclusion policy and safeguarding policy are not aligned, which means that many children, particularly those who are statistically more vulnerable to exclusion are denied their right to both education and to be kept safe from harm. I conclude by arguing that a shift in priorities, away from punishment and towards upholding safeguarding legislation, is required.
Pressure dependence of the fundamental band-gap energy of CdSe

Pressure-dependent photomodulation spectroscopic studies of the optical transition associated with the fundamental bandgap of single-crystal bulk CdSe are presented. Photomodulated transmission (PT) measurements were performed at room temperature as a function of applied hydrostatic pressure using the diamond-anvil-cell technique. The sharp, derivative-like PT spectral features corresponding to the band-gap transition in CdSe were found to shift linearly toward higher energy with increasing pressure. By examining the pressure dependence of the PT spectra, the pressure coefficient for the direct band gap of wurtzite CdSe was determined to be 43.1 meV/GPa. The hydrostatic deformation potential of the band gap was found to be −2.3 eV.
Exponential bounds for a class of stochastic processes with application to call admission control in networks

Obtains computable upper and lower bounds of an exponential form for the tail distribution of a class of stochastic processes satisfying a Lindley's type recursion with non-renewal inputs. The exponential upper bound is shown to exist if the process is ergodic. The optimum decay rate for the bound is obtained by establishing a large deviation result for this process. The paper concludes with several applications including one to the problem of controlling the admission of new sessions into a network. <<ETX>>
An Experimental Study on Performance Assessment of Solar Updraft Tower Power Plant with Guide Vanes

Abstract Solar updraft tower (SUT) plant is one of the viable passive energy technologies for carbon-free power generation. However, the lower thermal performance of the plant is still a major huddle for its global acceptance. The main aim of the present study is to improve the performance of the plant by providing guide vanes inside the canopy. A SUT plant was developed, where the height of the chimney, collector inclination angle and diameter of collector were 6 m, 30° and 3.5 m, respectively. The flow and performance parameters of the plant were measured and analyzed. Two distinct scenarios such as Case1: the SUT plant and Case2: Case1 with guide vanes were studied. It was observed that the flow and performance of the system were enhanced significantly in Case2 compared to Case1. The maximum hourly average velocity at chimney base and maximum theoretical power potential were enhanced by 9.4 and 10.7%, respectively, at 13.30 h for Case2. For the study period of 13 h, the overall efficiency of the SUT system was enhanced by 46.7% in Case2 compared to Case1.
Using the Post-Widder formula to compute the Earth's viscoelastic Love numbers

SUMMARY The post-glacial or post-seismic relaxation of a Maxwell viscoelastic earth, 1-D or slightly laterally heterogeneous, can be calculated in a normal-mode approach, based on an application of the propagator technique. This semi-analytical approach, widely documented in the literature, allows to compute the response of an earth model whose rheological parameters vary quite strongly with depth, at least as accurately and efficiently as by 1-D numerical integration (Runge‐Kutta). Its main drawback resides in the need to identify the roots of a secular polynomial, introduced after reformulating the problem in the Laplace domain, and required to transform the solution back to the time domain. Root finding becomes increasingly difficult, and ultimately unaffordable, as the complexity of rheological profiles grows: the secular polynomial gradually gets more ill behaved, and a larger number of more and more closely spaced roots is to be found. Here, we apply the propagator method to solve the Earth’s viscoelastic momentum equation, like in the above-mentioned normal-mode framework, but bypass root finding, using, instead, the Post‐Widder formula to transform the solution, found again in the Laplace domain, back to the time domain. We test our method against earlier normal-mode results, and prove its effectiveness in modelling the relaxation of earth models with extremely complex rheological profiles.
Bootstrap confidence bands for regression curves and their derivatives

Confidence bands for regression curves and their first p derivatives are obtained via local pth order polynomial estimation. The method allows for multiparameter local likelihood estimation as well as other unbiased estimating equations. As an alternative to the confidence bands obtained by asymptotic distribution theory, we also study smoothed bootstrap confidence bands. Simulations illustrate the finite sample properties of the methodology.
A new modification of the immersed‐boundary method for simulating flows with complex moving boundaries

In this paper, a new immersed‐boundary method for simulating flows over complex immersed, moving boundaries is presented. The flow is computed on a fixed Cartesian mesh and the solid boundaries are allowed to move freely through the mesh. The present method is based on a finite‐difference approach on a staggered mesh together with a fractional‐step method. It must be noted that the immersed boundary is generally not coincident with the position of the solution variables on the grid, therefore, an appropriate strategy is needed to construct a relationship between the curved boundary and the grid points nearby. Furthermore, a momentum forcing is added on the body boundaries and also inside the body to satisfy the no‐slip boundary condition. The immersed boundary is represented by a series of interfacial markers, and the markers are also used as Lagrangian forcing points. A linear interpolation is then used to scale the Lagrangian forcing from the interfacial markers to the corresponding grid points nearby. This treatment of the immersed‐boundary is used to simulate several problems, which have been validated with previous experimental results in the open literature, verifying the accuracy of the present method. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cylindrical and spherical space equivalents to the plane wave expansion technique of Maxwell's wave equations

The plane wave expansion (PWM) technique applied to Maxwell’s wave equations provides researchers with a supply of information regarding the optical properties of dielectric structures. The technique is well suited for structures that display a linear periodicity. When the focus is directed towards optical resonators and structures that lack linear periodicity the eigen-process can easily exceed computational resources and time constraints. In the case of dielectric structures which display cylindrical or spherical symmetry, a coordinate system specific set of basis functions have been employed to cast Maxwell’s wave equations into an eigen-matrix formulation from which the resonator states associated with the dielectric profile can be obtained. As for PWM, the inverse of the dielectric and field components are expanded in the basis functions (Fourier-Fourier-Bessel, FFB, in cylindrical and Fourier- Bessel-Legendre, BLF, in spherical) and orthogonality is employed to form the matrix expressions. The theoretical development details will be presented indicating how certain mathematical complications in the process have been overcome and how the eigen-matrix can be tuned to a specific mode type. The similarities and differences in PWM, FFB and BLF are presented. In the case of structures possessing axial cylindrical symmetry, the inclusion of the z axis component of propagation constant makes the technique applicable to photonic crystal fibers and other waveguide structures. Computational results will be presented for a number of different dielectric geometries including Bragg ring resonators, cylindrical space slot channel waveguides and bottle resonators. Steps to further enhance the computation process will be reported.
Approximate message passing from random initialization with applications to Z2 synchronization

Significance Approximate Message Passing (AMP) serves as both a family of efficient first-order algorithms and a powerful theoretical machinery for high-dimensional data analysis, which has found applications in a diverse array of problems such as sparse regression, generalized linear models, and low-rank matrix and tensor estimation. While the existing suite of AMP theory covers a wealth of applications, the theoretical guarantees for AMP remain mostly unavailable when it starts from random initialization, limiting its applicability. To address this issue, our paper delivers a nonasymptotic characterization of AMP when initialized randomly, justifying and advocating the use of random initialization in practice. In other words, a carefully designed initialization is completely unnecessary for the success of AMP.
Optical variability of blazars

Variability is one of the characteristics of blazars. The rapid variability is superposed on the long term variations. In this talk, the variability on different time scales, such as intra-day(IDV), short-term (STV), and long-term (LTV) variations are presented for some sources. For objects with many observations, we have made periodicity analysis, the results show that the long-term variation periodicity is in a range of about 1.4 to 18 years from our consideration. Some possible mechanisms for different time scales are also discussed. The optical polarization is correlated with the variation amplitude.
Radiative Convective Nanofluid Flow Past a Stretching/Shrinking Sheet with Slip Effects

Steady two-dimensional laminar mixed convective boundary-layer slip nanofluid flow in a Darcian porous medium due to a stretching/shrinking sheet is studied theoretically and numerically. A thermal radiative effect is incorporated in the model. The governing transport, partial differential equations, along with the boundary conditions, are transformed into a dimensionless form and then, via a linear group of transformation, a system of coupled similarity differential equations is derived. The transformed equations are solved numerically using the Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg fourth–fifth-order numerical quadrature method from Maple symbolic software. The effects of the controlling parameters (namely, stretching/shrinking, velocity slip, thermal slip, mass slip, Darcy number, radiation conduction, buoyancy ratio parameter, and Lewis number) on the dimensionless velocity, temperature, nanoparticle volume fraction, velocity gradient, temperature gradient, and nanoparticle volume fraction gradient are shown in graphi.
The Influence of Clear Air Entrainment on the Droplet Effective Radius of Warm Maritime Convective Clouds

Abstract The influence of clear air entrainment on the droplet effective radius of cloudy air parcels is investigated theoretically and experimentally by using data collected in 16 warm maritime tropical cumuli during the Joint Hawaii Warm Rain Project (1985). The theoretical study consists of calculations of the droplet spectrum, droplet effective radius, and liquid water content performed by an entraining cloud parcel model for different entrainment-mixing scenarios. The numerical simulation results are interpreted by means of an analytic equation of the droplet effective radius expressed as a function of both the liquid water content and the droplet concentration. In the experimental study, the behavior of the effective radius is examined at all scales as a function of the liquid water content, used as a dilution degree indicator. At a given cloud level, in the absence of secondary droplet activation, the effective radius of the droplet spectrum of small-scale parcels (10-Hz data) is roughly independen.
A Coupled Cloud Physics–Radiation Parameterization of the Bulk Optical Properties of Cirrus and Its Impact on the Met Office Unified Model Global Atmosphere 5.0 Configuration

AbstractA new coupled cloud physics–radiation parameterization of the bulk optical properties of ice clouds is presented. The parameterization is consistent with assumptions in the cloud physics scheme regarding particle size distributions (PSDs) and mass–dimensional relationships. The parameterization is based on a weighted ice crystal habit mixture model, and its bulk optical properties are parameterized as simple functions of wavelength and ice water content (IWC). This approach directly couples IWC to the bulk optical properties, negating the need for diagnosed variables, such as the ice crystal effective dimension. The parameterization is implemented into the Met Office Unified Model Global Atmosphere 5.0 (GA5) configuration. The GA5 configuration is used to simulate the annual 20-yr shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), as well as the temperature structure of the atmosphere, under various microphysical assumptions. The coupled parameterization is directly compar.
The Empirical Process of some Long-Range Dependent Sequences with an Application to $U$-Statistics

Soient (X j ) un processus stationnaire gaussien de moyenne zero avec des covariances r(k)=EX k+1 X 1 , satisfaisant certaines conditions, et un processus empirique associe F N (x, t), processus a deux parametres pour G(X j ), avec G une fonction mesurable quelconque. On obtient des theoremes limites non-centraux pour F N (x, t) et on les utilise pour deduire le comportement asymptotique de certaines statistiques de von Mises normalises de maniere adequate et de statistiques U, basees sur G(X j ). Les processus obtenus ont une structure differente de ceux rencontres dans le cas de l'independance et la distribution identique
Quasi-periodicity in deep redshift surveys

The recent result by Broadhurst T. J. et al. (1990, Nature, 343), showing a striking, nearly periodic, galaxy redshift distribution in a narrow pencil-beam survey, is explained within the Voronoi cellular model of clustering of galaxies. Galaxies, whose luminosities are selected from a Schechter luminosity function, are placed randomly within the walls of this cellular model. Narrow and deep, magnitude-limited, pencil-beam surveys through these structures are simulated. Some 15 per cent of these beams show the observed regular pattern, with a spacing between the peaks of the order of 105-150 h -1 Mpc, but most pencil-beams show peaks in the redshift distribution without periodicity, so we may conclude that, even within a cellular universe, periodicity is not a common phenomena.