Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint Training of Deep Neural Networks for Multi-Channel Dereverberation and Speech Source Separation

In this paper, we propose a joint training of two deep neural networks (DNNs) for dereverberation and speech source separation. The proposed method connects the first DNN, the dereverberation part, the second DNN, and the speech source separation part in a cascade manner. The proposed method does not train each DNN separately. Instead, an integrated loss function which evaluates an output signal after dereverberation and speech source separation is adopted. The proposed method estimates the output signal as a probabilistic variable. Recently, in the speech source separation context, we proposed a loss function which evaluates the estimated posterior probability density function (PDF) of the output signal. In this paper, we extend this loss function into a loss function which evaluates not only speech source separation performance but also speech derevereberation performance. Since the output signal of the dereverberation part is converted into the input feature of the second DNN, gradient of the loss function is back-propagated into the first DNN through the input feature of the second DNN. Experimental results show that the proposed joint training of two DNNs is effective. It is also shown that the posterior PDF based loss function is effective in the joint training context.
Standard cell architectures for N2 node: transition from FinFET to nanosheet and to forksheet device

N2 node is introduced at 42nm poly pitch (CPP), 16 metal pitch (MP) by using 5 tracks (5T) cell height, single fin, and buried power rail (BPR). Due to the extreme cell height reduction, the patterning of the middle of line (MOL) become challenging. In this paper, two contact patterning schemes, staggered and aligned are presented and evaluated in terms of their impact on electrical performance on FinFET and Nanosheet. Simulations show that both options meet the performance target for N2. However, scaling at these dimensions also challenges the p-n separation between devices in a logic cell, which results in area penalty in complex cells. A novel device is introduced at N2 node, Forksheet, which shows higher performance and better area scaling at standard cell level compared to FinFET and NanoSheet.
Where the twain shall meet? A study of best practices to resolve retailer–supplier acrimony in post-audit recovery of trade promotion dollars

Abstract Deductions and claims to recover trade promotions incentives through post-audit of previous years’ transactions is a highly contentious but prevalent practice in the industry. Retailers, given their low margins of operations, are motivated to seek every opportunity to obtain extra incentives from suppliers to boost their profits. They often hire third-party post-auditors to scrub through all their transactions and “deal sheets” or supplier agreements to search for potential unclaimed trade promotion dollars promised by suppliers in prior years. Third party auditors have an incentive to also make dubious claims as they are compensated on contingency fees of a percent of claims recovered. Such practices lead to acrimony between retailers and suppliers. They often have differing viewpoints and opinions about the contextual terms of the trade promotion deals itself leading to an opinion “chasm” that is sometimes difficult to bridge. The resulting tension among retailers and suppliers, along with regulatory compliance under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, and prevailing questions on the role and practices of post-auditors, motivated this study. Conducted over a 24-month period with extensive collaboration and research discussions between the study team and responsible managers from leading US retail and manufacturing companies. The distinctive mix of academic rigor and practitioner relevance was the hallmark of this study that involved three retail summits conducted with industry participants to discuss the research method and its resultant findings. Evidence suggests that transactional discrepancies will continue to happen, despite technological advances, because of large volume of transactions and multiplicity of complex trade promotion methods in vogue in the retail world. So, as long as there are claim opportunities, post-audit recovery practices will continue, confounding the darker side of the retailer–supplier relationship. Through a multi-stage and multi-level study, and data from a variety of sources, we identify best practices in post-audit recovery and suggest ways to reduce associated conflict and improve relationship satisfaction.
The identification of juvenile Haliotis iris habitat within the east Otago Taiāpure

The role of nursery habitat to the distribution and abundance of abalone fisheries globally is poorly understood. The New Zealand abalone, Haliotis iris, is a species of cultural, recreational and economic importance which has been showing signs of decline. The aim of this study was to identify the distribution of H. iris nursery habitat within the East Otago Taiāpure (EOT), a locally managed fishery, and assess the impact of major current and future threats to juvenile H. iris. The results from this study estimated the density of juvenile H. iris at the major reefs within the EOT for two levels of wave exposure and three depth ranges. Furthermore, correlations were made between the abundance of juvenile H. iris and several biotic and abiotic variables, which were used to define juvenile nursery habitat. Several sites of suitable juvenile H. iris habitat within the EOT were found to contain no individuals indicating habitat is not a limiting factor. The distribution of juvenile H. iris was found to be tightly linked to the abundance of adult H. iris, indicating that recruitment is localised, on the scale of meters to tens of meters and the areas of suitable habitat with no inhabitants may be recruitment limited. The information gained from this study was used to guide a reseeding programme, identifying areas limited by recruitment to be reseeded. This study also investigated how increases in sedimentation affected juvenile H. iris abundance, distribution and interspecific relationships. It was found that sedimentation had a negative effect on juvenile H. iris survival and no effect of competition with Chiton glaucus, a common resident of intertidal cryptic habitat where juvenile H. iris, was found. Increased sedimentation due to land use changes may cause juvenile H. iris be displaced by more sediment tolerant species, such as C. glaucus. As atmospheric CO2 increases over the next 100 years the carbonate saturation state and pH of temperate surface waters will decrease possibly resulting in limited shell formation and dissolution for marine calcifiers such as H. iris. It was found that both juvenile and adult H. iris possess a pH microenvironment at their surface termed the concentration boundary layer CBL. Neither juvenile nor adult H. iris were capable of modifying the internal environment to mitigate the effects of ocean acidification (OA), both must rely on other protective mechanisms which may be influenced by current changes to sedimentation. Information gained from this study may be used to better manage the H. iris fishery within the EOT at an appropriate scale by understanding the spatial distribution of juvenile H. iris and the associated habitat, as well as understanding the effects of increased sedimentation and OA on survival.
Poly-ɛ-lysine dendron aptamers as regulators of angiogenesis in tissue regeneration

The successful regeneration of damaged or injured tissues is strictly dependent upon the ability to control angiogenesis. The formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones is mainly regulated by the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a mitogen specific for endothelial cells. A number of therapeutic approaches are being pursued to control this process in pathological conditions, including the use of synthetic peptides which have shown their capacity to either promote or inhibit angiogenesis. However, their lack of stability and short half-lives have strictly limited their clinical applications. To address these limitations, here, both anti- and pro- angiogenic peptide sequences (WHLPFKC and YIGSR) were synthesised at the uppermost branching generation of poly-ɛ-lysine dendrons.
Solid-phase luminescence of pyrene in chitosan adsorbents

The preparation method of modified chitosan films for adsorption of pyrene from solution is described. Solid-phase luminescence of samples was studied, degree of extraction and index of polarity of microenvironment of pyrene molecules was determined. It has been proven possible to carry out luminescent analysis of substances for pyrene content using made films. The observed results demonstrate an ability for the using method of solid-phase luminescence (SPL) to increase the range of optical transparency and avoid pre-extraction and concentration of the test samples. © 2020 Journal of Biomedical Photonics &
Three-Dimensional Imaging via Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting

Three-dimensional (3D) imaging under the condition of weak light and low signal-to-noise ratio is a challenging task. In this paper, a 3D imaging scheme based on time-correlated single-photon counting technology is proposed and demonstrated. The 3D imaging scheme, which is composed of a pulsed laser, a scanning mirror, single-photon detectors, and a time-correlated single-photon counting module, employs time-correlated single-photon counting technology for 3D LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Aided by the range-gated technology, experiments show that the proposed scheme can image the object when the signal-to-noise ratio is decreased to −13 dB and improve the structural similarity index of imaging results by 10 times. Then we prove the proposed scheme can image the object in three dimensions with a lateral imaging resolution of 512 × 512 and an axial resolution of 4.2 mm in 6.7 s. At last, a high-resolution 3D reconstruction of an object is also achieved by using the photometric stereo algorithm.
A Privacy-Preserving Scheme for Interactive Messaging Over Online Social Networks

Due to the tremendous growth in user population over online social networks (OSNs), interactive messaging traffic has experienced exponential growth, which consequently causes serious privacy concerns. Malicious users may utilize camouflage, phishing, and other unconventional social engineering techniques to lure ordinary users to reveal their sensitive attributes in their interactive messages when they least expect. In addition, during a communication session, attackers may intercept data packets with sensitive attributes to obtain private information. Therefore, it is of paramount importance for the system to successfully identify malicious users and prevent them from obtaining private information from messages containing sensitive attributes when socializing over OSNs. In this article, we propose a privacy-preserving scheme for interactive messaging by leveraging user credibility that characterizes users’ reputation based on users’ social behaviors and uses the item response theory in psychometrics to assess the risk levels of users’ interactive messages. This scheme ensures the privacy preservation during message exchange through message obfuscation with the message replication and the replacement of sensitive attributes. Through the experiments on a Facebook-like Social Network Data Set, we have demonstrated that our proposed scheme has high availability and accuracy while achieving the high success rate to identify malicious users, which can thus greatly reduce the privacy leakage.
Diversidad de levaduras marinas productoras de fitasas Diversity of phytase-producing marine yeasts

Marine yeast strains from different habitats were isolated and phytase-producing marine yeasts were screened. Of the 327 yeast strains isolated, 10 showed comparatively higher phytase activity. Physiological and biochemical characters of these 10 strains, and optimum pH and temperature of the crude phytases produced by them were examined. Partial sequences of the 18S rDNA were also analyzed. Based on the physiological and biochemical characters and phylogenetic analyses, the 10 strains were found to be closely related to Hanseniaspora uvarum (strain WZ1), Yarrowia lipolytica (strain W2B), Kodamaea ohmeri (strain BG3), Candida carpophila (strain N12C), Issatchenkia orientalis (strain YF04C), Candida tropicalis (strain MA6), Yarrowia lipolytica (strain YF08), Candida carpophila (strain NY4E), Candida tropicalis (strain YF12C), and Candida tropicalis (strain MB2). They were obtained from gut of unknown fish, gut of Holothuria scabra, gut of Hexagrammos otakii, gut of Hexagrammos otakii, gut of Synechogobius hasta, and seawater. It is interesting to note that some marine yeast strains could produce alkaline phytase. This is the first report of marine yeast strains capable of producing extracellular phytase or cell-bound phytase. The results also indicated that phytase-producing marine yeasts were diverse enough to be used in bioremediation of marine phosphorous pollution.
Large-Eddy Simulations of Turbulent Flows around Buildings Using the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Environment–Lattice Boltzmann Model (ABLE-LBM)

A three-dimensional, prognostic Atmospheric Boundary Layer Environment–Lattice Boltzmann Model (ABLE-LBM) using the multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann method was developed for large-eddy simulation of urban boundary layer atmospheric flows. In this article we describe the details of the ABLE-LBM for urban flow, its implementation of complex boundaries, and the subgrid turbulence parameterizations. As a first validation of this newly developed model, the simulation results were evaluated with two wind-tunnel datasets that were collected using particle image velocimetry and Irwin probes, respectively. The ABLE-LBM simulations use the same building layout and Reynolds numbers used in the laboratory wind tunnels. The ABLE-LBM simulations compare favorably to both laboratory studies in terms of the mean wind fields. The turbulent fluxes simulated by the model in the observational planes also agreed reasonably well with the laboratory results. The model produced urban canyon flows and vortices on the lee side and over the building tops that are similar to those of the laboratory studies in strength and location. This validation study using laboratory data indicates that our new ABLE-LBM is a viable approach for modeling atmospheric turbulent flows in urban environments. A numerical implementation using a graphics processing unit shows that real-time simulations are achieved for these two validation cases.
Transformation through loss and grief: A study of personal transformation following bereavement.

The cases of 16 individuals (12 women and 4 men) who reported powerful transformational experiences following bereavement were examined, using a mixed methods approach, including a qualitative thematic analysis of interviews and 2 psychometric scales. Both approaches found significant evidence of positive personal change. Prevalent themes included a sense of permanent transformation, a less materialistic attitude, a different attitude to death, and a sense of inner well-being. The changes were reported as stable and permanent, over long periods of time (a mean of over 13 years since the original bereavement experiences). Two psychometric measures showed statistically significant results. The term “posttraumatic transformation” is used to describe the experience of most of the participants.Parallels are identified between the transformation experienced by the participants and Maslow’s descriptions of “self-actualizers” and the states of optimum human development (or “wakefulness”) described by spiritual traditions. I suggest reasons for the relationship between psychological turmoil and personal transformation.
Effectiveness of positive psychotherapy for young adults with depressive Symptoms.

OBJECTIVE To analyse the level of happiness and depressive symptoms before and after positive psychotherapy. METHODS The experimental study was conducted from February 2018to March 2018 in Shahpur Sadar town of Sargodha district in the Punjab province of Pakistan at Govt. College, and comprised female young adults with depressive symptoms. The participants were subjected to 8 sessions (one baseline and seven other) of group positive psychotherapy. On the basis of repeated measure design, data was collected using the depression subscale of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, Positive Psychotherapy Inventory, and Values in Action Inventory before, during and after therapy administration. SPSS 23 was used for data analysis. RESULTS Of the 250 subjects assessed, 30(12%) aged 18-20 years were selected for therapy sessions as they had some level of depression; 15(50%) mild and 15(50%) moderate. Mean happiness level increased with each session from baseline value of 20.63±4.61 to post-therapy 50.67±4.63 (p<0.05). Depression level decreased from baseline value of 15.47±3.42 with each session to post-therapy 4.53±1.10 (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Positive psychotherapy sessions were found to be effective in decreasing depression among female young adults.
Reduced-order modeling of dynamic stall using neuro-fuzzy inference system and orthogonal functions

To consider stall flutter in the design procedure of a blade, accurate models of flow loading are needed. This paper first presents a numerical simulation of an airfoil undergoing a deep dynamic stall employing a computational fluid dynamics code. Overset and polyhedral grid techniques are adopted to accurately simulate the flow field at high angles of attack. Having validated the simulation, the occurrence of stall flutter over a pitching airfoil with an increase in amplitude and frequency of oscillations is examined. The results express that the amplitude of the lift and pitching moment depends on the amplitude of the forced oscillation and there are higher harmonics of the pitching moment compared to the forced oscillation frequency content, both indicating the nonlinearity of aerodynamic lift and pitching moment. Subsequently, a nonlinear reduced model of the dynamic stall is derived using a fuzzy inference system (FIS) and the adaptive network-based FIS (ANFIS). Due to the unsatisfactory results of modeling, especially at post-stall angles of attack, the Gram–Schmidt orthogonalization technique is used to construct a more complex structure of the input variables. The new higher-order input variables have been re-employed by FIS and ANFIS. The results show that excellent modeling is achieved by ANFIS between the new structure of the inputs and the corresponding aerodynamic coefficients using only 10% of input–output data. Having found an appropriate relation, the proposed reduced-order model could properly predict the aerodynamic response of the pitching airfoil at two reduced frequencies.
Fast Block-Sparse Estimation for Vector Networks

While there is now a significant literature on sparse inverse covariance estimation, all that literature, with only a couple of exceptions, has dealt only with univariate (or scalar) networks where each node carries a univariate signal. However in many, perhaps most, applications, each node may carry multivariate signals representing multi-attribute data, possibly of different dimensions. Modelling such multivariate (or vector) networks requires fitting block-sparse inverse covariance matrices. Here we achieve maximal block sparsity by maximizing a block-l0-sparse penalized likelihood. There is only one previous algorithm that already does this, but it does not scale. Here we address key computational bottlenecks and develop a new algorithm which is much faster and has massively reduced requirements on matrix conditioning. A benchmark study shows a computational speed-up by many orders of magnitude.
PRELIMINARY INSIGHTS ON THE ACEHNESE DAILY STRESSORS IN CONFLICT AFFECTED AREA

The 2005 peace memorandum was a significant event for the development of Aceh province, following 30 years living in the adversity of political conflict and violence. Persistent stress in post-conflict communities may occur due to daily life hardships related to economic and political instability, such as access to education, employment, and others. These stresses are referred to as daily stressors. The purpose of this study is to explore the daily stressors among the Acehnese 13 years following the peace memorandum. The study was conducted in the city center of North Aceh, one of the regencies that were highly affected by political conflict and violence. We recruited 20 participants with convenience sampling that were consisted of village headmen and local villagers from one of the villages in North Aceh, Alue Anoe Timu. The study employed qualitative design by collecting data with focus group discussion and data were analyzed with thematic analysis. The results are discussed and may provide meaningful knowledge to the development of conflict-affected areas in Aceh.
On‐resin microwave‐assisted copper‐catalyzed azide‐alkyne cycloaddition of H1‐relaxin B single chain ‘stapled’ analogues

The development of conformationally constrained analogues of bioactive peptides is a relevant goal in peptide medicinal chemistry. Among the several classes of conformationally constrained peptides, the so‐called stapled peptides, which bear a side‐chain‐to‐side‐chain bridge, are particularly interesting since they offer the possibility to stabilize specific conformational elements, such as α‐helices or β‐turns. We describe an efficient and reproducible microwave‐assisted strategy to prepare side‐chain‐to‐side‐chain clicked peptides, performing the copper‐catalyzed azide‐alkyne cycloaddition on solid phase, using as a model peptide a portion of the H1‐relaxin B chain, which contains the binding cassette motif of this important bioactive peptide. All the relevant parameters, that is, resin, solvent, catalytic system, microwave energy and reaction time were optimized using a systematic one‐factor‐at‐a‐time (OFAT) approach. This method will be useful for the preparation of libraries of conformationally constrained relaxin analogues.
The Arrested Deployment Model of Financial Literacy

Findings concerning the circumstances in which financial literacy training is effective seem inconsistent. This chapter aims at bringing order to this vexing situation. Its central thesis is that people’s aptitude to deploy their financial literacy relies on their ability to use cognitive and mental resources. This depends on various factors, some endogenous (i.e., personality and cognitive traits such as intelligence and quality of self-control and executive functions) and some external. Among the external ones, we examine economic circumstances and the features of the financial task itself. Predictions from the model include that certain financial tasks, which are relatively simple and deliver prompt results, benefit from financial literacy training, whereas others, with less clear payoffs and only in a distant future, do not. People in straightened economic circumstances who experience scarcity have fewer resources and do not deploy what financial insights they acquired. Our predictions were all borne out by a study on an extensive program of financial training.