Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of a carrier phrase on hearing aid amplification of single words in quiet

Abstract Objective: A common method to assess the functional benefit of hearing aids is by measuring the performance-intensity curve of single words in quiet with and without hearing aids. Currently, virtually all hearing aids use signal processing, which may have a marked effect on gain as a function of time. Thus, hearing-aid behavior may be different for a word presented in isolation compared to the same word preceded by a carrier phrase, which is a closer replication of natural conversation. The present research was conducted to assess this difference. Design: In a hearing-aid test box, speech materials were routed through hearing aids and the output was recorded with a 2cc coupler. Study sample: Seven different hearing aids were programmed according to the manufacturer’s fitting rules, using a given hearing loss. Results: Depending on the hearing aid, and the hearing-aid setting, differences in the overall level of the hearing-aid processed words ranged from 1.5 to 3.5 dB. Differences were due to slow attack times in amplitude compression. Conclusions: Although differences were small for most hearing aids, the use of a carrier phrase should be considered in speech intelligibility tests to ensure that hearing-aid performance closer reflects that in real life.
A contactless power supply for photovoltaic power generation system

Among the alternative energy sources, the solar energy is recognized as an important energy source and its application is increasing. Especially in future, the hybrid solar energy generation system with battery and fuel cell will be widely used as an independent distributed power generation system. In this paper, a solar power hybrid home generation system using a contactless power supply (CPS) that can transfer an electric power without any mechanical contact is proposed. The proposed system consists of a ZVS boost converter, a half bridge LLC resonant converter and contact-less transformer.
Preparation techniques for concentrating pollen from marine sediments and other sediments with low pollen density

Abstract A procedure that modifies standard preparation techniques was developed to concentrate pollen and spores from intractable sediments. These modifications include sieving samples suspended in 0.001 M sodium pyrophasphate through 7im nylon screens prior to and following chemical treatments. If siliceous sediments require reprocessing with hydroflouric acid (HF), samples are sieved through 7 im screens between HF treatments, using sodium pyrophosphate as a suspension. Samples with large amounts of undigested, fine‐grained organic matter are slowly oxidized with a sodium chlorate mixture. Continuously monitored use of these techniques produces statistically‐significant sums of pollen from sediments which otherwise would be of little value to palynologists.
Ferroptosis: A Novel Anti-tumor Action for Cisplatin

Purpose Ferroptosis is a new mode of regulated cell death, which is completely distinct from other cell death modes based on morphological, biochemical, and genetic criteria. This study evaluated the therapeutic role of ferroptosis in classic chemotherapy drugs, including the underlying mechanism. Materials and Methods Cell viabilitywas detected by using the methylthiazoltetrazlium dye uptake method. RNAiwas used to knockout iron-responsive element binding protein 2, and polymerase chain reaction, western blot was used to evaluate the efficiency. Intracellular reduced glutathione level and glutathione peroxidases activitywere determined by related assay kit. Intracellularreactive oxygen species levelswere determined by flowcytometry. Electron microscopywas used to observe ultrastructure changes in cell. Results Among five chemotherapeutic drugs screened in this study, cisplatin was found to be an inducer for both ferroptosis and apoptosis in A549 and HCT116 cells. The depletion of reduced glutathione caused by cisplatin and the inactivation of glutathione peroxidase played the vital role in the underlying mechanism. Besides, combination therapy of cisplatin and erastin showed significant synergistic effect on their anti-tumor activity. Conclusion Ferroptosis had great potential to become a new approach in anti-tumor therapies and make up for some classic drugs, which open up a new way for their utility in clinic.
Self-reference based semi-fragile image watermarking scheme for authentication

In this paper, a novel image watermarking scheme is proposed. With the combination of JPEG compression scheme, the watermark is embedded in to the host image by consideration of the relationship between the quantized pixels and the original pixels. Since the proposed scheme has a nice combination of JPEG compression, the proposed scheme has good robustness against JPEG compressions. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme has good localization ability, and the good robustness against general image processing.
Lithospheric studies using gradients: ÿrsted to Swarm

Maps of the lithospheric magnetic eld made to date have used single satellite observations. In contrast, the upcoming Swarm mission will measure the magnetic eld gradient, in this case the difference in the magnetic eld between the lower two satellites. We discuss our rationale for choosing the 1:5 satellite separation, and the expected resolution achievable. We relate this gradient to underlying magnetic eld sources. In an attempt to better understand the advantages and limitations of gradient measurements, we have reviewed the yrsted, SACC, and CHAMP missions for close encounters, and examined some 50; 000 of those observations in detail. The lithospheric signal over the north polar cap is reliably isolated by standard selection criteria, with about 20% of the data retained. We demonstrate that, at least in the polar caps, the selection criteria are necessary for the isolation of the lithospheric signal. There is a tendency for the predictions to underestimate the observed eld, as shown by the slopes, which average about 2. This is especially notable over stronger anomalies. These gradients have evidently captured unmodeled, probably higher frequency, signal. Comparing the gradient measurement with the eld measurement, we see a notable improvment in both the correlation coefcient and the offset, with the correlation coefcient improving from about 0.7 to in excess of 0.8. The gradient control provided by SAC-C and yrsted is almost equally effective.
Compression-domain seamless multiresolution visualization of gigantic triangle meshes on mobile devices

We present a software architecture for distributing and rendering gigantic 3D triangle meshes on common handheld devices. Our approach copes with strong bandwidth and hardware capabilities limitations in terms with a compression-domain adaptive multiresolution rendering approach. The method uses a regular conformal hierarchy of tetrahedra to spatially partition the input 3D model and to arrange mesh fragments at different resolution. We create compact GPU-friendly representations of these fragments by constructing cache-coherent strips that index locally quantized vertex data, exploiting the bounding tetrahedron for creating local barycentic parametrization of the geometry. For the first time, this approach supports local quantization in a fully adaptive seamless 3D mesh structure. For web distribution, further compression is obtained by exploiting local data coherence for entropy coding. At run-time, mobile viewer applications adaptively refine a local multiresolution model maintained in a GPU by asynchronously loading from a web server the required fragments. CPU and GPU cooperate for decompression, and a shaded rendering of colored meshes is performed at interactive speed directly from an intermediate compact representation using only 8bytes/vertex, therefore coping with both memory and bandwidth limitations. The quality and performance of the approach is demonstrated with the interactive exploration of gigatriangle-sized models on common mobile platforms.
Inflammatory Markers Associated With Subclinical Coronary Artery Disease: The Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study

Background Despite evidence for higher risk of coronary artery disease among HIV+ individuals, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We investigated associations of inflammatory markers with subclinical coronary artery disease in 923 participants of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (575 HIV+ and 348 HIV− men) who underwent noncontrast computed tomography scans for coronary artery calcification, the majority (n=692) also undergoing coronary computed tomography angiography. Methods and Results Outcomes included presence and extent of coronary artery calcification, plus computed tomography angiography analysis of presence, composition, and extent of coronary plaques and severity of coronary stenosis. HIV+ men had significantly higher levels of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), intercellular adhesion molecule‐1, C‐reactive protein, and soluble‐tumor necrosis factor‐α receptor (sTNFαR) I and II (all P<0.01) and a higher prevalence of noncalcified plaque (63% versus 54%, P=0.02) on computed tomography angiography. Among HIV+ men, for every SD increase in log‐interleukin‐6 and log intercellular adhesion molecule‐1, there was a 30% and 60% increase, respectively, in the prevalence of coronary stenosis ≥50% (all P<0.05). Similarly, sTNFαR I and II in HIV+ participants were associated with an increase in prevalence of coronary stenosis ≥70% (P<0.05). Higher levels of interleukin‐6, sTNFαR I, and sTNFαR II were also associated with greater coronary artery calcification score in HIV+ men (P<0.01). Conclusions Higher inflammatory marker levels are associated with greater prevalence of coronary stenosis in HIV+ men. Our findings underscore the need for further study to elucidate the relationships of inflammatory pathways with coronary artery disease in HIV+ individuals.
Rapid and simultaneous determination of multi-element abundances and U-Pb age for zircon crystal using UV laser ablation ICP-MS technique: critical evaluation of the technique with 91500 zircon standard

A new analytical technique for simultaneous determinations of REE, U, Th, Pb abundances and U-Pb age from a single analysis spot of zircon crystal is presented in this paper. It uses ultra-violet (UV)-laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Coupling of multi-element abundance data and U-Pb age data can provide piercing information for petrogenetic studies of igneous rocks and for provenance studies of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The REE, U, Th and Pb abundances and 207Pb/206Pb and 206Pb/238U ratios for a 91500 zircon standard were simultaneously analyzed in order to test the accuracy of the measurement and to evaluate a homogeneity within a grain of the standard sample. The resulted abundance data for almost of all rare earth elements (REE) show good agreement with those obtained by the secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and with LA-ICP-MS data. The data obtained in this study fell in the range of published data. Only exception is the abundance data for Er, Lu, Pb and U. These elements are differed largely from the published data beyond the precision of our measurements (∼10% in SD). The large discrepancy between present results and previous authors’ data can be explained by heterogeneity among different grains of the zircon standard. In the case of U-Pb age, resulted 238U-206Pb and 207Pb-206Pb ages were 1131±152 Ma (2SD) and 1156±132 Ma (2SD), respectively, showing an excellent agreement with the TIMS data within analytical uncertainties achieved in this study (∼20%, 2SD). The abundance data for REE, U, Th and Pb, together with U-Pb isotopic ones demonstrate clearly that the present LA-ICPMS technique can provide a rapid and versatile tool for the multi-element abundances and U-Pb age determinations.
Deploying Wireless Sensor Networks with Fault-Tolerance for Structural Health Monitoring

Structural health monitoring (SHM) systems are implemented for structures (e.g., bridges, buildings) to monitor their operations and health status. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are becoming an enabling technology for SHM applications that are more prevalent and more easily deployable than traditional wired networks. However, SHM brings new challenges to WSNs: engineering-driven optimal deployment, a large volume of data, sophisticated computing, and so forth. In this paper, we address two important challenges: sensor deployment and decentralized computing. We propose a solution, to deploy wireless sensors at strategic locations to achieve the best estimates of structural health (e.g., damage) by following the widely used wired sensor system deployment approach from civil/structural engineering. We found that faults (caused by communication errors, unstable connectivity, sensor faults, etc.) in such a deployed WSN greatly affect the performance of SHM. To make the WSN resilient to the faults, we present an approach, called FTSHM (fault-tolerance in SHM), to repair the WSN and guarantee a specified degree of fault tolerance. FTSHM searches the repairing points in clusters in a distributed manner, and places a set of backup sensors at those points in such a way that still satisfies the engineering requirements. FTSHM also includes an SHM algorithm suitable for decentralized computing in the energy-constrained WSN, with the objective of guaranteeing that the WSN for SHM remains connected in the event of a fault, thus prolonging the WSN lifetime under connectivity and data delivery constraints. We demonstrate the advantages of FTSHM through extensive simulations and real experimental settings on a physical structure.
Segmentation Of SAR Images Using Quadtree And Potts Model

This paper presents a contextual classifier based on quadtree structures and Markov random fields theory. The initial classification is realized by a clustering algorithm, then for each level of the tree, boundary regions are found. Pixels of boundary regions are classified by using a combination of nearest class mean criterion, Mahalanobis distance criterion and finally a Markov model. Our scheme is simple to implement and performs well, giving satisfactory results for SAR images.
A Public Platform for the Verification of the Phenotypic Effect of Candidate Genes for Resistance to Aflatoxin Accumulation and Aspergillus flavus Infection in Maize

A public candidate gene testing pipeline for resistance to aflatoxin accumulation or Aspergillus flavus infection in maize is presented here. The pipeline consists of steps for identifying, testing, and verifying the association of selected maize gene sequences with resistance under field conditions. Resources include a database of genetic and protein sequences associated with the reduction in aflatoxin contamination from previous studies; eight diverse inbred maize lines for polymorphism identification within any maize gene sequence; four Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping populations and one association mapping panel, all phenotyped for aflatoxin accumulation resistance and associated phenotypes; and capacity for Insertion/Deletion (InDel) and SNP genotyping in the population(s) for mapping. To date, ten genes have been identified as possible candidate genes and put through the candidate gene testing pipeline, and results are presented here to demonstrate the utility of the pipeline.
Synthesizing structured reactive programs via deterministic tree automata

Existing approaches to the synthesis of reactive systems typically involve the construction of transition systems such as Mealy automata. However, in order to obtain a succinct representation of the desired system, structured programs can be a more suitable model. In 2011, Madhusudan proposed an algorithm to construct a structured reactive program for a given omega-regular specification without synthesizing a transition system first. His procedure is based on two-way alternating omega-automata on finite trees that recognize the set of "correct" programs. We present a more elementary and direct approach using only deterministic bottom-up tree automata that compute so-called signatures for a given program. In doing so, we extend Madhusudan's results to the wider class of programs with bounded delay, which may read several input symbols before producing an output symbol (or vice versa). As a formal foundation, we inductively define a semantics for such programs.
Please Scroll down for Article Journal of Building Performance Simulation Co-simulation of Building Energy and Control Systems with the Building Controls Virtual Test Bed Co-simulation of Building Energy and Control Systems with the Building Controls Virtual Test Bed

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. This article describes the implementation of the Building Controls Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB). The BCVTB is a software environment that allows connecting different simulation programs to exchange data during the time integration, and that allows conducting hardware in the loop simulation. The software architecture is a modular design based on Ptolemy II, a software environment for design and analysis of heterogeneous systems. Ptolemy II provides a graphical model building environment, synchronizes the exchanged data and visualizes the system evolution during run-time. The BCVTB provides additions to Ptolemy II that allow the run-time coupling of different simulation programs for data exchange, including EnergyPlus, MATLAB, Simulink and the Modelica modelling and simulation environment Dymola. The additions also allow executing system commands, such as a script that executes a Radiance simulation. In this article, the software architecture is presented and the mathematical model used to implement the co-simulation is discussed. The simulation program interface that the BCVTB provides is explained. The article concludes by presenting applications in which different state of the art simulation programs are linked for run-time data exchange. This link allows the use of the simulation program that is best suited for the particular problem to model building heat transfer, HVAC system dynamics and control algorithms, and to compute a solution to the coupled problem using co-simulation. 1. Introduction This article presents the Building Controls Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB), which is a software environment for co-simulation and for real-time simulation. By co-simulation, we mean applications in which at least two simulators, each solving an initial-value differential or difference equation, are coupled to exchange data that depend on state variables. By real-time simulation, we mean applications in which the simulation time is synchronized to the wall …
Effective Use of Discontinuous Phrases for Hierarchical Phrase-based Translation

Hierarchical phrase-based (HPB) models have shown strong capability in generalization and reordering. However, they are heavily dependent on continuous phrases and are difficult for modeling natural linguistic discontinuities directly. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for integrating discontinuous phrases into the Chinese-to-English HPB system. We focus on the extraction method of discontinuous phrases which retrieves various linguistic information missed in the HPB model, such as set phrases and long-distance reordering of adverbials, etc. After being transformed into the similar form to HPB rules, the translation rules with discontinuities can be seamlessly integrated into the CKY decoder. Experimental results show that the proposed approach for incorporating the linguistic discontinuities achieves statistically significant improvements over the traditional HPB system.
Reduced front-end reception requirements for satellite broadcast using interference processing

The problem of fixed satellite broadcast reception is considered. The possibility of reducing the requirements on the antenna front-end dimensions is investigated. Interference processing and mitigation techniques are employed to cope with the increased level of adjacent system interference at the satellite broadcast receiver resulting from the less directive antenna. A novel satellite reception front-end antenna based on a multiple input receiver is proposed to adapt the interference processing methods to the broadcast reception scenario. The potential performance of the devised scheme is thoroughly discussed and assessed by extensive software simulations.
Geographical and genetic diversity of the human hepatitis B virus

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the most widely distributed viruses that infect humankind. Distinct clinical and virological characteristics of the HBV‐infection have been reported in different geographical parts of the world and are increasingly associated with genetic diversity of the infecting virus. HBV is classified into genotypes and subgenotypes that are associated with ethnicity and geography. The genetic diversity of HBV in its various aspects has been the subject of extensive investigations during the last few decades. Since molecular epidemiology research tools have become widely available, the number of new publications in this field has grown exponentially. This review summarises the recent publications on the geographical distribution of genetic variants of HBV, and proposes updated criteria for the identification of new genotypes and subgenotypes of the virus.