Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-Task End-to-End Model for Telugu Dialect and Speech Recognition

Conventional Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems are susceptible to dialect variations within a language, thereby adversely affecting the ASR. Therefore, the current practice is to use dialect-specific ASRs. However, dialect-specific information or data is hard to obtain making it difficult to build dialect-specific ASRs. Furthermore, it is cumbersome to maintain multiple dialect-specific ASR systems for each language. We build a unified multi-dialect End-to-End ASR that removes the need for a dialect recognition block and the need to maintain multiple dialect-specific ASRs for three Telugu regional dialects: Telangana, Coastal Andhra, and Rayalaseema. We find that pooling the data and training a multi-dialect ASR benefits the low-resource dialect the most – an improvement of over 9.71% in relative Word Error Rate (WER). Subsequently, we experiment with multi-task ASRs where the primary task is to transcribe the audio and the secondary task is to predict the dialect. We do this by adding a Dialect ID to the output targets. Such a model outperforms naive multi-dialect ASRs by up to 8.24% in relative WER. Additionally, we test this model on a dialect recognition task and find that it outperforms strong baselines by 6.14% in accuracy.
Chronic High-Altitude Hypoxia Alters Iron and Nitric Oxide Homeostasis in Fetal and Maternal Sheep Blood and Aorta

The mammalian fetus thrives at oxygen tensions much lower than those of adults. Gestation at high altitude superimposes hypoxic stresses on the fetus resulting in increased erythropoiesis. We hypothesized that chronic hypoxia at high altitude alters the homeostasis of iron and bioactive nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) in gestation. To test for this, electron paramagnetic resonance was used to provide unique measurements of iron, metalloproteins, and free radicals in the blood and aorta of fetal and maternal sheep from either high or low altitudes (3801 or 300 m). Using ozone-based chemiluminescence with selectivity for various NOx species, we determined the NOx levels in these samples immediately after collection. These experiments demonstrated a systemic redistribution of iron in high altitude fetuses as manifested by a decrease in both chelatable and total iron in the aorta and an increase in non-transferrin bound iron and total iron in plasma. Likewise, high altitude altered the redox status diversely in fetal blood and aorta. This study also found significant increases in blood and aortic tissue NOx in fetuses and mothers at high altitude. In addition, gradients in NOx concentrations observed between fetus and mother, umbilical artery and vein, and plasma and RBCs demonstrated complex dynamic homeostasis of NOx among these circulatory compartments, such as placental generation and efflux as well as fetal consumption of iron-nitrosyls in RBCs, probably HbNO. In conclusion, these results may suggest the utilization of iron from non-hematopoietic tissues iron for erythropoiesis in the fetus and increased NO bioavailability in response to chronic hypoxic stress at high altitude during gestation.
Cluster observations of the electron edge of the low-latitude boundary layer at mid-altitudes.

The nature of the particle precipitations at dayside midaltitudes can be interpreted in terms of evolution of reconnected field lines. Due to the difference between electron and ion parallel velocities, two distinctive boundary layers should be observed at mid-altitudes between the open-closed boundary and the injections in the cusp proper. The first layer, the electron-dominated boundary layer, named the electron edge of the Low-Latitude Boundary Layer (LLBL), consists of soft magnetosheath electrons and high-energy plasma sheet ions. The second layer, the LLBL proper, is a mixture of both ions and electrons with magnetosheath energies. The Cluster spacecraft frequently observe these boundary layers. We present one example of a midaltitude cusp crossing with an extended electron edge of the LLBL. This electron edge contains 10-200 eV low-density isotropic electrons presumably from the halo solar wind source and parallel and/or anti-parallel electron beams with higher fluxes accelerated presumably near the magnetopause X-line. We have used 3 years of data of mid-altitude cusp crossings to carry out a statistical study of the location and size of this electron edge of the LLBL. The electron edge size has been estimated using new multi-spacecraft techniques. The Cluster tetrahedron crossed electron and ion boundaries of the LLBL/cusp with time delays of 1-40 minutes, so we can reconstruct the motion of the electron boundary between different spacecraft observations and improve the accuracy of the estimation of the boundary layer size. Our study shows that the electron edge was observed in 87% of mid-altitude cusp crossings by Cluster. The size of this region varied between 0°-2° Invariant Latitude (ILAT) with a median value of 0.2° ILAT. Generally the size of the electron edge depends on the combination of many parameters, but we have found anti-correlation between the size of this region and the magnitude of the IMF and solar wind dynamic pressure, as expected from a simple reconnection model.
Employee performance analysis of Paul Bakery Restaurant in Jakarta during the COVID-19 pandemic by measuring leadership, motivation and compensation through job satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of leadership, compensation and motivation, by using job satisfaction as an intervening variable, on employee performance during a crisis in the context of a company in the restaurant service sector. A tiered linear regression with two models was used: Model 1 analyzed the influence of leadership, compensation and motivation on job satisfaction while Model 2 explored the impact of leadership, compensation, motivation and job satisfaction on performance. The results showed that leadership, compensation, and motivation, simultaneously and partially, had a significant effect on job satisfaction. While together they had a substantial impact on performance, but only partially on leadership and compensation do not affect performance. There is however an indirect effect of leadership and compensation variables on performance through job satisfaction. In comparison, the motivation variable does not affect either directly or indirectly
Analysis of the Impact of Acoustic Vibrations on the Laser Beam Remelting Process

The article contains an analysis of selected aspects of the structure and properties of laser remelting of low carbon steel supported by acoustic vibrations obtained in the research presented in (A Novel Method of Supporting the Laser Welding Process with Mechanical Acoustic Vibrations). Due to the assumptions made in this publication, it was necessary to deepen the analysis of the obtained results. The correlation of such factors on the structure as the frequency of vibrations (50, 100, 1385 Hz), their propagation through the short-lived liquid phase and changes in the structure, chemical composition, and hardness of the characteristic zones of the obtained remelting was considered. The remelting obtained with the participation of resonant acoustic vibrations with a frequency of 1385 Hz was subjected to thermo-mechanical analysis. A characteristic “bandwidth” pattern was revealed in the structure. In the present article, a thermo-mechanical analysis of the cause of its formation was carried out by comparing it with the remelting obtained at lower frequencies. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the band structure was characterized by 7 to 8 areas up to approximately a 90 µm depth, which showed dark and light zones. These areas differed in carbon content, hardness, and width. The analysis of vibration propagation helped to determine that in the time of crystallization of the molten metal pool, the transition of the vibration wave lasted through 7–8 minima and maxima. This fact allows us to assume with a high probability that it is the result of the applied resonance frequency.
PRONUNCIATION PATTERNS AMONG L2 HUL’Q’UMI’NUM’ LEARNERS: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

This paper reports on a study of pronunciation errors made by adult learners of Hul’q’umi’num’, a Central Salish language known for its rich consonantal system and complex syllable structure. Analyzing a set of 2,915 elicited words, across four pronunciation tests and 35 speakers, we are able to identify several factors contributing to learners’ pronunciation errors; some of these are relatively broad (L1 transfer effects; effects of hyper-articulation), and others are more specific (e.g. familiarity of lexical items and sound/sequences, word, syllable, and stress position, phonetic robustness). Our paper lays the foundation for effective pronunciation instruction in the context of Hul’q’umi’num’ (and Coast Salish) language revitalization, and also contributes to broadening our understanding of L2 pronunciation cross-linguistically.
A user-friendly headset for radar-based silent speech recognition

Silent speech interfaces allow speech communication to take place in the absence of the acoustic speech signal. Radar-based sensing with radio antennas on the speakers’ face can be used as a non-invasive modality to measure speech articulation in such applications. One of the major challenges with this approach is the variability between different sessions, mainly due to the repositioning of the antennas on the face of the speaker. In order to reduce the impact of this influencing factor, we developed a wearable headset that can be 3D-printed with flexible materials and weighs only about 69 g. For evaluation, a radar-based word recognition experiment was performed, where five speakers recorded a speech corpus in multiple sessions, alternatively with the headset and with double-sided tape to place the antennas on the face. By using a bidirectional long short-term memory network for classification, an average inter-session word accuracy of 76.50% and 68.18% was obtained using the headset and the tape, respectively. This indicates that the antenna (re-) positioning accuracy with the headset is not worse than that with the double-sided tape while providing other benefits.
Agglomeration, recombinant innovation and the role of market reforms in a transitioning China

ABSTRACT This paper estimates a knowledge production function to study the effects of local spillovers on the patenting activity and new innovation sales of Chinese firms during a period marked by rapid economic reform. We show that local spillovers expected to arise between co-located firms in related industries encourages firm innovation outcomes, especially among firms that diversify their core competencies into new related (versus unrelated) technological domains. Exploiting the gradual and spatially uneven economic transitioning process as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that the positive effects of relatedness on firm innovation are significantly larger in size following more intense market-oriented reforms. The results are potentially relevant for policy-makers in transitioning economies, highlighting for the first time the importance of firms' own diversification process and market-oriented reforms for encouraging innovation-enhancing technological related spillovers.
Stability: Concept, relevance, inducing and maintaining it

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease resulting in destruction of melanocytes which leads to depigmented patches on the skin. An assessment of disease activity and/or stability is important for many reasons, one of them being planning surgical intervention. Though there are sufficient studies in the literature exploring the clinical, biochemical, and molecular predictors of disease stability, there still exists ambiguity in many of these aspects. There are no longitudinal prospective cohort studies to assess the course of vitiligo and it is difficult to predict the status of stability of the disease with certainty. This review focuses on the clinical features which can help a clinician judge whether the disease is progressive in a patient being planned for surgical intervention. Subsequently, there is also a discussion on tools including ultraviolet light photography, imaging software, and dermoscopy in accurately assessing the stability of disease. This is followed by a review of the literature on the biochemical, serological, microscopic, and ultrastructural findings in active versus static disease. The review ends with interventions for inducing and maintaining stability in this enigmatic disease.
Topology and Modulation for a New Indirect Matrix Converter to Reduce the Common-Mode Voltage

In this article, a new indirect matrix converter (IMC) topology with two insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) set in the upper and lower dc-link is proposed to suppress the common-mode voltage (CMV). Meanwhile, two new space vector modulation (SVM) strategies are redesigned to control this topology. The first strategy utilizes the equivalent zero voltage vectors to replace the zero voltage vectors for reducing the CMV, while the second strategy selects and utilizes specific active voltage vectors and equivalent zero voltage vectors to suppress the CMV based on the input current sector. Comparative simulation and experimental research for the two strategies are carried out for the new IMC topology, which validates that the CMV can be reduced to 57.7% or 37.1% of the one in the conventional IMC system. Besides, the proposed new IMC system is experimentally verified that it can keep a satisfied CMV suppression performance when feeding an induction motor. Moreover, the efficiency analysis also indicates that the new topology will not bring in obvious additional power loss under the proposed SVM strategies even though two IGBTs are added in the dc-link.
Spectrum of Laplacians for Graphs with Self-Loops

This note introduces a result on the location of eigenvalues, i.e., the spectrum, of the Laplacian for a family of undirected graphs with self-loops. We extend on the known results for the spectrum of undirected graphs without self-loops or multiple edges. For this purpose, we introduce a new concept of pseudo-connected graphs and apply a lifting of the graph with self-loops to a graph without self-loops, which is then used to quantify the spectrum of the Laplacian for the graph with self-loops.
Permian rocks of north-central New Mexico

Every fall since 1950, the New Mexico Geological Society (NMGS) has held an annual Fall Field Conference that explores some region of New Mexico (or surrounding states). Always well attended, these conferences provide a guidebook to participants. Besides detailed road logs, the guidebooks contain many well written, edited, and peer-reviewed geoscience papers. These books have set the national standard for geologic guidebooks and are an essential geologic reference for anyone working in or around New Mexico.
Contribution of Local Wisdom as a Halal Tourism Attraction: Case Study of Pekalongan City Central Java Indonesia

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the contribution of local wisdom as a halal tourism attraction. This research is carried out with a qualitative research framework. Primary research data is collected by qualitative research methods, namely through observation, interviews, and documentation. Secondary data is obtained through the assessment of articles, books, research reports, documents, and other sources that are valid and support the theme of the research. Observations are carried out in the region and tourist attractions, while interviews are conducted to the Tourism Office and the managers of tourist attractions, communities, and tourists. The collected data is analyzed descriptively and qualitatively. The results of this study show that Pekalongan City has the prospect of becoming a halal tourism destination because it has fulfilled the components of halal tourism (attractions, access, amenities, communication, environment, supporting facilities, and celebration). On the other hand, the attractions and attractions owned by Pekalongan City are interesting and diverse. Pekalongan City has distinctive and unique local wisdom and can be an object and attraction of regional tourism. In addition, it is also supported by community security and creativity activities that support local wisdom as a tourism attraction. Culture, Islamic traditions, and local wisdom in Pekalongan City have not been maximally packaged into tourist attractions. The implication of this study is that the packaging of local wisdom into a tourist attraction will contribute to the development of regional tourism. The abandonment of local wisdom as a regional tourism attraction will negate Indonesia which is rich in cultural diversity as a differentiator with other countries in the field of halal tourism.
Insights from the relationship between the multistage Wiener filter and the method of conjugate gradients

This paper demonstrates that, under certain conditions, the method of conjugate gradients (CG) and the multistage Wiener filter (MWF) produce equivalent solutions. Equivalence follows from the fact that both algorithms minimize the same cost function in the same subspace, namely a Krylov subspace. Motivation for Krylov subspaces and their properties are developed herein. New insights into both algorithms follow from the equivalence including previously unpublished results on the convergence of the multistage Wiener filter as a function of rank. Furthermore a new perspective on CG is developed where CG can now be viewed as a reduced rank algorithm for the solution of the Wiener-Hopf equations.
Using Machine Learning to classify the diffuse interstellar bands

Using over a million and a half extragalactic spectra we study the correlations of the Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) in the Milky Way. We measure the correlation between DIB strength and dust extinction for 142 DIBs using 24 stacked spectra in the reddening range E(B-V) < 0.2, many more lines than ever studied before. Most of the DIBs do not correlate with dust extinction. However, we find 10 weak and barely studied DIBs with correlations that are higher than 0.7 with dust extinction and confirm the high correlation of additional 5 strong DIBs. Furthermore, we find a pair of DIBs, 5925.9A and 5927.5A which exhibits significant negative correlation with dust extinction, indicating that their carrier may be depleted on dust. We use Machine Learning algorithms to divide the DIBs to spectroscopic families based on 250 stacked spectra. By removing the dust dependency we study how DIBs follow their local environment. We thus obtain 6 groups of weak DIBs, 4 of which are tightly associated with C2 or CN absorption lines.
A Comprehensive Review and Experimental Investigation on Heat Pipes Application in Electrical Machines

The rapid development of transportation electrification brings unprecedented opportunities and challenges as well to the technological improvement of high-power-density motors. As the major restriction of motor performance, thermal issues attract more attention recently and the heat pipe (HP), due to its high thermal conductivity and lightweight characteristics, is identified as a promising solution. Though HPs have been attempted in cooling systems of electrical machines, their thermal benefits still need to be fully understood. This article provides a comprehensive review and performs a series of experimental investigations to fill the technology gaps for the HP application in electrical machines. First, the HP technology is briefly introduced, followed by a detailed review on its applications in different locations of electrical machines with corresponding thermal improvements reported. Then, experimental tests are conducted to investigate the correlation between the HPs’ parameters and their cooling effectiveness, including cross-sectional shape, bending angle, fins arrangement, and inclination angle. The obtained results and conclusions could provide a guideline for the promotion of HPs in the next-generation electrical machines for future transportation.
Multiple gene editing in porcine embryos using a combination of microinjection, electroporation, and transfection methods

Background and Aim: Mosaicism – the presence of both wild-type and mutant alleles – is a serious problem for zygotic gene modification through gene editing using the Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-Cas9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system. Different delivery methods, such as microinjection (MI), electroporation (EP), and transfection (TF), can be used to transfer CRISPR/Cas9 components into porcine zygotes. This study aimed to develop a method that combines MI, EP, and TF to improve mutation efficiency mediated through the CRISPR/Cas9 system for a triple-gene knockout in pigs. Materials and Methods: The study consisted of three groups: The MI group with three simultaneously microinjected guide RNAs (gRNAs) targeting α-1,3-galactosyltransferase (GGTA1), cytidine 32 monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase (CMAH), and β-1,4-N-acetyl-galactosaminyltransferase 2 (B4GALNT2); the MI + EP group with two gRNAs targeting GGTA1 and B4GALNT2 genes delivered into zygotes through MI, followed by EP of gRNA targeting the CMAH 1 h later; and the MI + EP + TF group with MI of gRNA targeting GGTA1 gene into zygotes, followed by EP of gRNA targeting CMAH 1 h later, and then TF of gRNA targeting the B4GALNT2 gene into zona-free zygotes after another hour. Results: The rate of blastocysts carrying mutations in one or two gene(s) was significantly higher in the MI + EP + TF group than in the MI group. However, the blastocyst formation rate of zygotes in the MI + EP + TF group was lower than that of the zygotes in the other treatment groups. Conclusion: The combination of CRISPR/Cas9 delivery methods may improve the mutation efficiency of triple-gene edited porcine blastocysts.
Performance Enhancement of a Pathological Voice Quality Evaluation System Using a Self-Attention Model

 Abstract — Auditory-perceptual evaluation is a common assessment used for evaluating the voice quality of patients; however, it suffers from inter-and intra-rater reproducibility problems. To this end, we propose an objective evaluation metric utilizing multi-input self-attention technology to evaluate voice quality using the grade (G), roughness (R), and breathiness (B) scale. The results showed that our proposed system has better performance accuracies of 69.25% for G, 77.5% for R, and 82.25% for B, as compared to that reported in previous studies. The findings also suggests that our system serves as a potential approach for voice quality evaluation applications in the future.
An optimal control problem for automatic air collision avoidance

In this paper, we discuss an automatic air collision avoidance problem from an optimal control theory standpoint. The objective is to find the combination of escape maneuvers between two aircraft that attains the largest minimum separation distance among all the possible choices of escape maneuvers. To achieve this objective, a terminal optimal control problem with a quadratic performance criteria is formulated where the terminal time is set to be the time at the minimum separation. The commands for an escape maneuver consist of a normal acceleration command and a roll rate command. To simplify the problem, the maximum allowable normal acceleration is commanded in the pitch axis, hence the command inputs appeared in the cost functional is formulated only with the roll rate commands. The optimal roll rate commands are determined by solving the Euler-Lagrange equations.