Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AHUMADA: a large speech corpus in Spanish for speaker identification and verification

Speaker recognition is a major task when security applications through speech input are needed. Regarding speaker identity, several factors of variability must be considered: (a) factors concerning peculiar intra-speaker variability (manner of speaking, inter-session variability, dialectal variations, emotional condition, etc.) or forced intra-speaker variability (Lombard effect, cocktail-party effect), and (b) factors depending on external influences (kind of microphone, channel effects, noise, reverberation, etc). To cope with all these variability sources, a specific speech database called AHUMADA has been designed and collected for speaker recognition tasks in Castilian Spanish. AHUMADA incorporates six different recording sessions, including both in situ and telephone speech recordings. A total of 104 male speakers uttered isolated digits, digit strings, phonologically balanced short utterances, phonologically and syllabically balanced read text and more than one minute of spontaneous speech, so about 15 GB of speech material is available. Speaker verification results, concerning the available variability sources are also presented.
Determination of non-linear, large, equal biaxial stresses and strains in thin elastomeric sheets by bubble inflation

Abstract This paper presents a method for investigating the axisymmetric bubble inflation of elastomers by an optical measuring system and determining local stress and strain properties in biaxial deformation. In particular, the local stretch ratios on the bubble shell are evaluated by an element grid [1,2]. Both the pattern and the bubble contour are observed optically on-line during a continuous inflation process. The relations between internal pressure, bubble height and local shell stresses and strains are analysed. Additionally, free and tube-guided inflation using hydraulic and pneumatic pressure systems are compared. As stresses toward the pole of the bubble gradually increase during the inflation process, the experimental method permits an investigation into material properties at high equibiaxial loadings and the determination of constants for different material models. The conclusion of this investigation is that simple assumptions that relate local stress and strain levels to the bubble inflation height cannot be made.
Computation of the Reversible Critical Current Degradation in Nb $_{3}$Sn Rutherford Cables for Particle Accelerator Magnets

Superconducting coils limit current is usually measured on unloaded short samples of strands extracted from the same cable used to wound the coil. However, the critical current density of Nb $_{3}$Sn strands is strongly dependent on the applied strain. This dependence is well reproduced by the so-called exponential scaling laws on strands subject to uniaxial loading. Unfortunately, no standard procedure exists to apply these laws under the complex stress condition experienced by the strands inside Rutherford cables for particle accelerator magnets. As a consequence, an empirical limit from magnet tests was set in the past: 150–200 MPa of maximum equivalent stress within the coil, considered as a block of uniform material. It is not clear how this number relates with the actual stress/strain state in the strands and if it is possible in magnet applications to infer the coil degradation from single strands tests. In this context, this paper presents a model to estimate the critical current degradation of superconducting coils as a function of the applied strain. The model results were compared against the critical current degradation measured on impregnated cable stacks subject to transverse pressure.
Study of Plastic Flow of Aluminum Alloy Using Digital Speckle Photography

The effect of hydrogen embrittlement on the localized plastic deformation of aluminum alloy D1 was investigated. The studies were performed for the test samples of aluminum alloy subjected to electrolytic hydrogenation. It is found that the mechanical properties and localized plastic deformation parameters of aluminum alloy are affected adversely by hydrogen embrittlement. The hydrogenated counterpart of alloy has a lower degree of ductility relative to the original alloy; however, the plastic flow behavior of material remains virtually unaffected. The deformation diagrams were examined for the deformed samples of aluminum alloy. These are found to show all the plastic flow stages: the linear, parabolic and pre-failure stages would occur for the respective values of the exponent n from the Ludwik-Holomon equation. Using digital speckle image technique, the local strain patterns were being registered for the original alloy D1 and the counterpart subjected to electrolytic hydrogenation for 100 h.
An Android Malicious Code Detection Method Based on Improved DCA Algorithm

Recently, Android malicious code has increased dramatically and the technology of reinforcement is increasingly powerful. Due to the development of code obfuscation and polymorphic deformation technology, the current Android malicious code static detection method whose feature selected is the semantic of application source code can not completely extract malware’s code features. The Android malware static detection methods whose features used are only obtained from the AndroidManifest.xml file are easily affected by useless permissions. Therefore, there are some limitations in current Android malware static detection methods. The current Android malware dynamic detection algorithm is mostly required to customize the system or needs system root permissions. Based on the Dendritic Cell Algorithm (DCA), this paper proposes an Android malware algorithm that has a higher detection rate, does not need to modify the system, and reduces the impact of code obfuscation to a certain degree. This algorithm is applied to an Android malware detection method based on oriented Dalvik disassembly sequence and application interface (API) calling sequence. Through the designed experiments, the effectiveness of this method is verified for the detection of Android malware.
A roughness measure of fuzzy sets from the perspective of distance

Covering generalized rough set theory is an important extension of classical rough set theory. To characterize a fuzzy set in a given covering approximation space, a pair of fuzzy sets, called covering rough fuzzy lower and upper approximations, were introduced, but they do not describe well how much uncertainty is induced by the granularity of knowledge. In this paper, we first discuss the relationship between uncertainty and granularity of knowledge. Then we examine several commonly used distance measures, and indicate that some of them exhibit some limitations. Next we propose a roughness measure based on Minkowski distance, and examine some important properties of this measure. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the application of the roughness measure to incomplete information systems with fuzzy decision.
BDNF-mediates Down-regulation of MicroRNA-195 Inhibits Ischemic Cardiac Apoptosis in Rats

Background: Our previous studies suggested that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)/tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) axis inhibited cardiomyocyte apoptosis in myocardial infarction (MI). However, the relationship between BDNF and microRNA (miRNA) in cardiomyocytes are unclear. The present study was performed to investigate the role of miR-195 and the interplay between BDNF and miR-195 in ischemic cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Methods: Male Wistar rats were subjected to coronary artery ligation, and primary neonatal rat ventricular myocytes were treated with hypoxia or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). BDNF level in rat ventricles was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). miR-195 mimic, inhibitor or negative control was transfected into the cardiomyocytes. Cell viability and apoptosis were detected by MTT assay and TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, respectively. Cardiac function and apoptosis were detected in MI rats intravenously injected with antagomiR-195. Luciferase assay, Western blot and Real-time RT-PCR were employed to clarify the interplay between miR-195 and BDNF. Results: miR-195 level was dynamically regulated in response to MI and significantly increased in ischemic regions 24 h post-MI as well as in hypoxic or H2O2-treated cardiomyocytes. Meanwhile, BDNF protein level was rapidly increased in MI rats and H2O2-treated cardiomyocytes. Apoptosis in both hypoxic and H2O2-treated cardiomyocytes were markedly reduced and cell viability was increased by miR-195 inhibitor. Moreover, inhibition of miR-195 significantly improved cardiac function of MI rats. Bcl-2 but not BDNF was validated as the direct target of miR-195. Furthermore, BDNF abolished the pro-apoptotic role of miR-195, which was reversed by its scavenger TrkB-Fc. Conclusion: Up-regulation of miR-195 in ischemic cardiomyocytes promotes ischemic apoptosis by targeting Bcl-2. BDNF mitigated the pro-apoptotic effect of miR-195 in rat cardiomyocytes. These findings may provide better understanding of the pro-apoptotic role of miR-195 in MI and suggest that BDNF/miR-195/Bcl-2 axis may be beneficial for limiting myocardial ischemic injury.
The anticoagulant effect of therapeutic levels of dabigatran in atrial fibrillation evaluated by thrombelastography (TEG®), Hemoclot Thrombin Inhibitor (HTI) assay and Ecarin Clotting Time (ECT)

Abstract Monitoring the effect of dabigatran (Pradaxa®) is challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate if thrombelastography reaction time (TEG® R) could detect the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran showing a correlation between TEG® R, Hemoclot Thrombin Inhibitor (HTI) assay and Ecarin Clotting Time (ECT) in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Blood samples from 35 AF patients receiving either 110 mg (n 19) or 150 mg (n 16) dabigatran twice daily were analyzed with TEG®, HTI and ECT 2–3 h after dabigatran intake. All patients had prolonged TEG® R. The patients receiving dabigatran 110 mg ×2 had a TEG® R mean 14.2 min (range 9.1–25), a mean dabigatran concentration measured by HTI of 268.5 ng/mL (range 54–837 ng/mL) and by ECT of 355.7 ng/mL (range 40–1020 ng/mL). The corresponding numbers for patients receiving dabigatran 150 mg ×2 were TEG® R mean of 12.5 min (range 9.2–23.2 min), mean dabigatran concentration of 179.2 ng/mL by HTI (range 26–687 ng/mL) and by ECT 225.1 ng/mL (range 42–1020 ng/mL). The two dosage groups had comparable anticoagulation demonstrated by equally prolonged TEG® R (p = .909), HTI (p = .707) and ECT (p = .567). No difference in creatinine levels in the two dosage groups was observed (p = .204) though patients with dabigatran concentration >400 ng/mL had significantly higher creatinine levels (p = .001). Large individual variation of the anticoagulant response was observed. Some patients had TEG® R values up to three times upper normal limit with immediate risk of bleeding. Our data indicate that TEG® R reflected dabigatran levels in NVAF patients and that TEG® R correlated to HTI and ECT.
Advances in Electromyogram Signal Classification to Improve the Quality of Life for the Disabled and Aged People

Problem statement: The social demands for the Quality Of Life (QOL) are increasing with the exponentially expanding silver generation. To i mprove the QOL of the disabled and elderly people, robotic researchers and biomedical engineers have b een trying to combine their techniques into the rehabilitation systems. Various biomedical signals (biosignals) acquired from a specialized tissue, or gan, or cell system like the nervous system are the driv ing force for the entire system. Examples of biosig nals include Electro-Encephalogram (EEG), Electrooculogram (EOG), Electroneurogram (ENG) and (EMG). Approach: Among the biosignals, the research on EMG signal processing and controlling is currently expanding in various directions. EMG signal based r esearch is ongoing for the development of simple, robust, user friendly, efficient interfacing device s/systems for the disabled. The advancement can be observed in the area of robotic devices, prosthesis limb, exoskeleton, wearable computer, I/O for virt ual reality games and physical exercise equipments. An EMG signal based graphical controller or interfacin g system enables the physically disabled to use word processing programs, other personal computer software and internet. Results: Depending on the application, the acquired and pro cessed signals need to be classified for interpreting into mechanical forc e or machine/computer command. Conclusion: This study focused on the advances and improvements on different methodologies used for EMG signal classification with their efficiency, flexibility a nd applications. This review will be beneficial to the EMG signal researchers as a reference and comparison st udy of EMG classifier. For the development of robust, flexible and efficient applications, this study ope ned a pathway to the researchers in performing futu re comparative studies between different EMG classific ation methods.
Development of an MRI-powered robotic system for cryoablation

This study proposes a novel MRI-powered robotic system controlled with the magnetic field generated by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. In the proposed system, we use an MRI-powered actuator unit proposed in the previous study and a spherical positioning mechanism. The actuator unit contains a ferromagnetic sphere, which acts as a power source and is used to control the positioning unit inside the MRI environment. These elements enable the development of a remote needle tip positioning system for use within the MRI scanner. Potential applications of the developed system include the automation of procedures during under MRI inspections, especially the cryoablation of breast cancer. In this paper, we report on the performance evaluation and the MR-safety of the proposed system and describe the newly developed spherical positioning mechanism, which can be activated by the actuator units.
NANOSTRUCTURED THIN FILM POLYMER ELECTROLYTES FOR FLEXIBLE BATTERY APPLICATIONS

Title of Document: NANOSTRUCTURED THIN FILM POLYMER ELECTROLYTES FOR FLEXIBLE BATTERY APPLICATIONS Ayan Ghosh, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Directed By: Professor Peter Kofinas Fischell Department of Bioengineering In recent years, the interest in polymeric batteries has inc reased dramatically. With the advent of lithium ion batteries being used in cell phones a nd l ptop computers, the search for an all solid state battery has continued. Current configurations have a liquid or gel electrolyte along with a separ ator between the anode and cathode. This leads to problems with electrolyte loss and decr eased performance over time. The highly reactive nature of these elect rolytes necessitates the use of protective enclosures which add to the size and bulk of the battery. Polymer electrolytes are more compliant than conventional inorganic glass or ceramic electrolytes. The goal of this work was to design and investigate nov l nanoscale polymer electrolyte flexible thin films based on the self-ass embly of block copolymers. Block copolymers were synthesized, consisting of a larger PEO block and a smaller block consisting of random copolymer of methyl methacrylat e (MMA) and the lithium salt of methacrylic acid (MAALi). The diblock copolym er [PEO-b(PMMA-ran-PMAALi)] with added lithium bis(oxalato)borate, LiBC 4O8 (LiBOB) salt (in the molar ratio ethylene oxide:LiBOB = 3:1) was us ed to form flexible translucent films which exhibited nearly two orders of magnitude gr eate conductivity than that shown by traditional high molecular weight PEO homopolymer e lectrolytes, in the absence of ceramic fillers and similar additives. The p resence of the smaller second block and the plasticizing effect of the bulky lithium salt were shown to effectively reduce the crystallinity of the solid electrolyt e, resulting in improved ion transporting behavior. The tailored solid self-assembled diblock copoly mer electrolyte matrix also exhibits an exceptionally high lithiumion transference number of 0.9, compared to a value between 0.2 and 0.5, shown by typical polymer-lithi um salt materials. The electrolyte material also has a wide electrochemical stability window and excellent interfacial behavior with lithium metal ele ctrode. The combination of these properties make electrolyte membranes composed of the dibloc k copolymer PEOb-(PMMA-ran-PMAALi) and LiBOB salt, viable electrolyte candidates for flexible lithium ion based energy conversion/storage devices. NANOSTRUCTURED THIN FILM POLYMER ELECTROLYTES FOR FLEXIBLE BATTERY APPLICATIONS
Electrical Transport and Scattering Mechanisms in Thin Silver Films for Thermally Insulating Glazing

Thin silver films are widely used in low-emissivity coatings for building glazing due to their high reflectance in the infrared and high transmittance in the visible spectrum. The determining parameter for the infrared reflectance is the electrical conductance of the layer stack – the better the conductance the higher the reflectance. Electrically conductive films of thicknesses smaller than the electron mean free path exhibit a strong increase in the residual resistivity proportional to the inverse of the film thickness. Despite intensive discussions, which have extended over tens of years, it is not understood yet if this conductive behavior originates from electron scattering at interfaces (Fuchs-Sondheimer model) or grain boundaries (Mayadas-Shatzkes model). To achieve a fundamental understanding of the prevailing electron scattering mechanisms, aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) / Ag / ZnO:Al layer stacks produced by magnetron sputtering were investigated concerning their electronic structure and electrical transport properties. The electronic structure of the layer stacks was probed and analyzed by electron energy-loss spectroscopy. By this technique, plasmonic excitations are observed, which can be categorized into excitations of the electrons in the bulk silver and excitations at the ZnO:Al / Ag interface. The plasmons were analyzed with respect to their dispersion and the peak width, and brought into relation with electrical conductivity measurements by calculating the plasmon lifetime and the electron scattering rate. The difficulty in determining the relative contributions of the interface and grain boundary scattering in experimental conditions is due to the fact that the way in which these scattering mechanisms depend on the film thickness, is very similar. Understanding the electron transport in thin films is of paramount importance, because the differentiation between the scattering mechanisms is a key issue for the improvement of the coatings. In the present work, the solution came from the expected difference in the temperature-dependent behavior of the resistivity between electron scattering at interfaces and electron scattering at grain boundaries. Hence, the resistivity was measured as a function of the temperature on layer stacks with different silver film thickness varying in the range of 4 to 200 nm. The data were analyzed using the extended Mayadas-Shatzkes model involving both electron scattering at interfaces (Fuchs-Sondheimer model), and electron scattering at grain boundaries. The results demonstrate that electron scattering at grain boundaries dominates for all film thicknesses. The basic layer stack was compared to more sophisticated systems, obtained either by adding a thin titanium layer in between silver and ZnO:Al, or by exposing the growing silver film to an oxygen partial pressure (oxidizing the film). Furthermore, the effect of annealing at 250◦C was studied for all these systems.
Comparison of noninvasive blood pressure monitoring with invasive arterial pressure monitoring in medical ICU patients with septic shock

Objective In the critically ill, the insertion of peripheral arterial catheters to monitor hemodynamics is a low-risk procedure, but carries the potential for complications. This study was designed to compare invasive and noninvasive blood pressure measurements in patients with septic shock in a medical ICU. Patients and methods We carried out a prospective observational study of patients admitted with septic shock and a radially inserted peripheral arterial catheter in the medical ICU with 31 adult patients who underwent four pairs of simultaneous noninvasive and invasive blood pressure measurements (124 comparisons), with the invasive blood pressure taken as the gold standard. Agreements between invasive and noninvasive blood pressure methods were assessed using Bland–Altman analysis, and clinical significance was determined by the European Society of Hypertension criteria. Results In all patients, noninvasive systolic (P=0.0385), diastolic (P<0.0001), and mean arterial pressures (P<0.0001) did correlate statistically with invasive measurements; however, all noninvasive pressure measurements did not correlate clinically according to the European Society of Hypertension criteria. Conclusion In our patients admitted to the medical ICU with septic shock, noninvasive blood pressure monitoring did not clinically correlate with invasive blood pressure measurements.
Effect of Dietary Components on Larval Life History Characteristics in the Medfly (Ceratitis capitata: Diptera, Tephritidae)

Background The ability to respond to heterogenous nutritional resources is an important factor in the adaptive radiation of insects such as the highly polyphagous Medfly. Here we examined the breadth of the Medfly’s capacity to respond to different developmental conditions, by experimentally altering diet components as a proxy for host quality and novelty. Methodology/Principal Findings We tested responses of larval life history to diets containing protein and carbohydrate components found in and outside the natural host range of this species. A 40% reduction in the quantity of protein caused a significant increase in egg to adult mortality by 26.5%±6% in comparison to the standard baseline diet. Proteins and carbohydrates had differential effects on larval versus pupal development and survival. Addition of a novel protein source, casein (i.e. milk protein), to the diet increased larval mortality by 19.4%±3% and also lengthened the duration of larval development by 1.93±0.5 days in comparison to the standard diet. Alteration of dietary carbohydrate, by replacing the baseline starch with simple sugars, increased mortality specifically within the pupal stage (by 28.2%±8% and 26.2%±9% for glucose and maltose diets, respectively). Development in the presence of the novel carbohydrate lactose (milk sugar) was successful, though on this diet there was a decrease of 29.8±1.6 µg in mean pupal weight in comparison to pupae reared on the baseline diet. Conclusions The results confirm that laboratory reared Medfly retain the ability to survive development through a wide range of fluctuations in the nutritional environment. We highlight new facets of the responses of different stages of holometabolous life histories to key dietary components. The results are relevant to colonisation scenarios and key to the biology of this highly invasive species.