Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Allen Multiband compression in hearing aids Amplitude Compression in Hearing Aids

In the later part of the 1980’s wide dynamic range compression (WDRC) amplification was introduced into the hearing aid market. Within a few years it was widely recognized as being a fundamentally important new amplification strategy. Within ten years nearly every hearing aid manufacturer had developed a WDRC product. Compression is useful as a processing stratagy because it compensates for the loss of cochlear outer hair cells which compress the dynamic range of sound within the cochlea. Sensory neural hearing loss is characterized by loudness recruitment, which results from damage to the outer hair cells. WDRC compensates for this hair cell disorder, ideally restoring the limited dynamic range of the recruiting ear to that of the normal ear. This article reviews the history of loudness research, loudness recruitment, cochlear compression effects such as the upward spread of masking, which result from and characterize OHC compression and finally outer hair cell physiology. The WDRC processing stratagy is explained, with a short history of the development of WDRC hearing aids, explaining the initial lack of acceptance of the technology, and a summary of areas of future research. 1 Compression and Loudness Acoustical signal intensity is defined as the flow of acoustic energy in Watts/m . Loudness is the perceptual intensity, measured in either sones or loudness units (LU). One sone is defined as the loudness of a 1 kHz tone at 40 dB SPL while one LU is defined as the loudness at threshold. One sone is about 975 LU. Iso–loudness intensity contours were first determined in 1927 by Kingsbury (Kingsbury 1927; Fletcher 1929, (p. 227)). Such curves describe the relation between equally–loud tones (or narrow bands of noise) at different frequencies. The intensity of an equally loud sound is called the loudness–level, which has units of phons, measured in Watts/m . In 1923 Fletcher, and again in 1924, Fletcher and Steinberg published the first key papers on the measurement of the loudness for speech signals (Fletcher 1923a; Fletcher and Steinberg 1924). In the 1924 paper the authors state
Alternative life histories shape brain gene expression profiles in males of the same population

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) undergo spectacular marine migrations before homing to spawn in natal rivers. However, males that grow fastest early in life can adopt an alternative ‘sneaker’ tactic by maturing earlier at greatly reduced size without leaving freshwater. While the ultimate evolutionary causes have been well studied, virtually nothing is known about the molecular bases of this developmental plasticity. We investigate the nature and extent of coordinated molecular changes that accompany such a fundamental transformation by comparing the brain transcription profiles of wild mature sneaker males to age-matched immature males (future large anadromous males) and immature females. Of the ca. 3000 genes surveyed, 15% are differentially expressed in the brains of the two male types. These genes are involved in a wide range of processes, including growth, reproduction and neural plasticity. Interestingly, despite the potential for wide variation in gene expression profiles among individuals sampled in nature, consistent patterns of gene expression were found for individuals of the same reproductive tactic. Notably, gene expression patterns in immature males were different both from immature females and sneakers, indicating that delayed maturation and sea migration by immature males, the ‘default’ life cycle, may actually result from an active inhibition of development into a sneaker.
Analysis of multiple sclerosis lesions using a fusion of 3.0 T FLAIR and 7.0 T SWI phase: FLAIR SWI

To improve multiple sclerosis (MS) research by introducing a new type of contrast, namely, the combination of fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) data acquired at 3.0 T and 7.0 T susceptibility‐weighted imaging (SWI) phase data. The approach of this new contrast is whole‐brain coverage with 3.0 T‐FLAIR data for lesion detection—currently limited at 7.0 T due to specific absorption rate (SAR) limits—overlaid with high‐resolution, small vessel, and iron‐related 7.0 T SWI contrast. Lesion analysis in terms of penetrating veins and local iron depositions were performed.
Skin mucus proteome map of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

Skin mucus is the first barrier of fish defence. Proteins from skin mucus of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were identified by 2DE followed by LC‐MS/MS. From all the identified proteins in the proteome map, we focus on the proteins associated with several immune pathways in fish. Furthermore, the real‐time PCR transcript levels in skin are shown. Proteins found include apolipoprotein A1, calmodulin, complement C3, fucose‐binding lectin, lysozyme and several caspases. To our knowledge, this is the first skin mucus proteome study and further transcriptional profiling of the identified proteins done on this bony fish species. This not only contributes knowledge on the routes involved in mucosal innate immunity, but also establishes a non‐invasive technique based on locating immune markers with a potential use for prevention and/or diagnosis of fish diseases.
Non-intrusive Speech Quality Assessment for Super-wideband Speech Communication Networks

The quality of speech communication networks has recently improved significantly by extending the available audio bandwidth from narrowband, firstly to wideband, and then to super-wideband. This bandwidth extension marks the end of the typically muffled sound we know from plain old telephone services. Another reason for increased speech quality is the fully digitally packet-based transmission. However, so far, no speech quality prediction model is able to estimate super-wideband quality without a clean reference signal. In this paper, we present a non-intrusive speech quality assessment model NISQA, which – in contrast to current state-of-the-art models – can predict the quality of super-wideband speech transmission. Furthermore, it is able to accurately predict the quality impact of packet loss concealment of modern codecs, such as Opus and EVS. The model uses a novel approach, where a CNN firstly estimates the per-frame quality, and subsequently, an RNN aggregates the per-frame values over time, to estimate the overall speech quality. Averaged over a comprehensive test set, the model achieves an RMSE*3rd of 0.29 with subjective MOS.
Dog10K: an international sequencing effort to advance studies of canine domestication, phenotypes and health

ABSTRACT Dogs are the most phenotypically diverse mammalian species, and they possess more known heritable disorders than any other non-human mammal. Efforts to catalog and characterize genetic variation across well-chosen populations of canines are necessary to advance our understanding of their evolutionary history and genetic architecture. To date, no organized effort has been undertaken to sequence the world's canid populations. The Dog10K Consortium (http://www.dog10kgenomes.org) is an international collaboration of researchers from across the globe who will generate 20× whole genomes from 10 000 canids in 5 years. This effort will capture the genetic diversity that underlies the phenotypic and geographical variability of modern canids worldwide. Breeds, village dogs, niche populations and extended pedigrees are currently being sequenced, and de novo assemblies of multiple canids are being constructed. This unprecedented dataset will address the genetic underpinnings of domestication, breed formation, aging, behavior and morphological variation. More generally, this effort will advance our understanding of human and canine health.
Persistent pain after caesarean and vaginal delivery: Experience at a public tertiary hospital, Benin city, Nigeria

Background: Recent observation has revealed that persistent pain (PP) might follow both vaginal delivery (VD) and cesarean delivery. The present study sought to examine the development of PP following delivery in Nigerian women. Methods: Questionnaires were administered to all consenting women at their 6-week post-delivery visit to hospital to ask about persistence of abdominal scar, pelvic, or perineal pain. They were subsequently called on phone to enquire about the duration of previously documented pain, or the persistence of pain at 6 months and 1 year post-delivery. Information on the frequency and intensity of pain, the impact on daily activities, as well as the quality of life was also sought. Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was done for differences in proportion, prevalence ratio (PR) and cross tabulation was done for association using SPSS 20.0 and GraphPad Instat 3. Results: Cesarean section (CS) was associated with higher prevalence of PP at 6 weeks postpartum than VD {(37/88, 42%) and (26/144, 18%), respectively; PR 2.1, 95% CI: 1.2--3.7, P = 0.01)}. The majority (93.7%) had mild to moderate pain. PP was associated with previous pain problem (PR 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2--4.5; P = 0.02). The women with PP recalled more severe peripartum pain (P = 0.01), and primiparity was highly predictive of PP (0.001). Conclusion: PP is more common after 6 weeks of CS than VD, but pain beyond 6 months appears rare. PP is associated with poorly managed chronic pain and severe peripartum pain especially in primiparas. We advocate a deliberate attempt to screen for and treat pain on an individualized basis.
Assessment and Control of Endotoxin Contamination in Baby Hamster Kidney Tissue Culture

Endotoxins are lipopolysaccharides (LPS) derived from cell membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and are responsible for its organization and stability Morrison et al., 1994, Raetz 1990, Rietschel and Brade 1992, Roslansky et al., 1991, Weary and Pearson 1988. In pharmaceutical industries it is possible to find endotoxins during production processes or in the final product. Although endotoxins are linked within the bacterial cell wall, they are continuously liberated into the environment. The release does not happen only with cell death but also during growth and division. Since bacteria can grow in nutrient poor media, such as water, saline, and buffers, endotoxins are found almost everywhere. A single Escherichia coli contains about 2 million LPS molecules per cell. Endotoxin elicits a wide variety of pathophysiological effects. In conditions where the body is exposed to LPS excessively or systemically (as when small concentrations of LPS enter the blood stream), a systemic inflammatory reaction can occur, leading to multiple pathophysiological effects, such as endotoxin shock, tissue injury, and death (Anspach 2001, Erridge et al., 2002, Ogikubo et al., 2004). However, endotoxin does not act directly against cell or organs but through activation of the immune system, especially through monocytes and macrophages, with the release of a range of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1. Pyrogenic reactions and shock are induced in mammals upon intramuscular or subcutaneous injection of endotoxin at high concentrations (Fiske et al., 2001).
PALM VEIN TECHNOLOGY

With the increase in technology threat to personal data and national security had also increased . The methods that were developed to secure important information from outside intervention were not up to safe mark . There was a need to introduce a technology that secures our data more efficiently from unlawful intervention. The palm vein pattern authentication technology that uses vescular patterns as personal identification data . Vein recognition technology is secure because the authentication data exists inside the body and is therefore very difficult to forge. It is highly accurate. This technology can be used in various fields like banking, hospitals, government offices, in passport issuing etc. Business growth will be achieved with these solutions by reducing the size of the palm vein sensor and shortening the authentication time. This paper is review the palm vein technology, its applications, how this technology is applied in real time applications and the advantages of using this technology.
Waste Management by Anaerobic Digestion ofKitchen Waste- A Review

Kitchen waste (food waste) collected from hostels and canteen has high calorific and rich nutritive value to microbes due to which efficiency of methane production can be enhanced. Biogas (Green energy) as an energy source is cost effective and generates a high-quality renewable fuel. Biogas contains around 55-65% of methane, 30- 40% of carbon dioxide. Methane has a calorific value of 10 kWh/Nm3. Under anaerobic digestion the organic content is reduced, cow dung slurry along with the kitchen waste is used in the bioreactor as inoculum. The digested slurry is produced at the end of this process is used as a bio fertilizer. In this paper anaerobic digestion, biogas production and challenges for management of kitchen waste and usage of biogas as alternative to kerosene or LPG has been discussed.
Estimation of camera calibration uncertainty using LIDAR data

This paper presents an analysis of uncertainty in the calibration of a network of cameras. A global 3D scene model, acquired with a LIDAR scanner, allows calibrating cameras with non overlapping fields of view by means of the DLT-Lines algorithm. Once the projection matrix is computed for each camera, error sources are propagated to compute estimates of each camera position uncertainty. We validate the consistency of the uncertainty analysis with Monte-Carlo simulations, and apply the technique in a real camera network. This allows to evaluate the accuracy of DLT-Lines in real settings.
Collective Classification of Congressional Floor-Debate Transcripts

This paper explores approaches to sentiment classification of U. S. Congressional floor-debate transcripts. Collective classification techniques are used to take advantage of the informal citation structure present in the debates. We use a range of methods based on local and global formulations and introduce novel approaches for incorporating the outputs of machine learners into collective classification algorithms. Our experimental evaluation shows that the mean-field algorithm obtains the best results for the task, significantly outperforming the benchmark technique.
General Force-Field Parametrization Scheme for Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Conjugated Materials in Solution

We describe a general scheme to obtain force-field parameters for classical molecular dynamics simulations of conjugated polymers. We identify a computationally inexpensive methodology for calculation of accurate intermonomer dihedral potentials and partial charges. Our findings indicate that the use of a two-step methodology of geometry optimization and single-point energy calculations using DFT methods produces potentials which compare favorably to high level theory calculation. We also report the effects of varying the conjugated backbone length and alkyl side-chain lengths on the dihedral profiles and partial charge distributions and determine the existence of converged lengths above which convergence is achieved in the force-field parameter sets. We thus determine which calculations are required for accurate parametrization and the scope of a given parameter set for variations to a given molecule. We perform simulations of long oligomers of dioctylfluorene and hexylthiophene in explicit solvent and find peristence lengths and end-length distributions consistent with experimental values.
Inpatient discharge process in a hospital; a case-study at Medisch Spectrum Twente

The patient flow at Medisch Spectrum Twente (MST) from admission to discharge is not optimal. This is mainly caused by that the discharge of inpatient patients from the wards take place rather late on the day. The objective of this study was to identify aspects of the patient discharge process of Medical Spectrum Twente that need to be optimized in order to achieve a better throughput of patients between wards and a lower amount of wrong-bed days. A literature study was conducted to gain information on the discharge process in a hospital. Existing documents have been used derived from the MST platform Qdesk to report the documented discharge process. Focus groups and one interview were organized to gather information concerning the current discharge process. The aspects/themes MST should optimize to achieve a better throughput between wards and a lower amount of wrong-bed days are patient visits, discharge timing, provisional discharge date, transfer from AOA to the clinic, and wrong-bed days.
Tachykinin NK1 but not NK2 receptors mediate non‐cholinergic excitatory junction potentials in the circular muscle of guinea‐pig colon

1 The effect of tachykinin NK1 and NK2 receptor antagonists on noncholinergic excitatory junction potentials (e.j.ps) evoked by electric field stimulation (EFS) in the circular muscle of the guinea‐pig proximal colon was investigated by means of a sucrose‐gap technique. 2 In the presence of 1 μm atropine, submaximal EFS (10 Hz, 20–30 V, 0.5 ms pulse width, 1 s train duration) evoked an inhibitory junction potential (i.j.p.) followed by e.j.p. with superimposed action potentials (APs) and contraction. Addition of either NG‐nitro‐l‐arginine (l‐NOARG, 0.1 mm) or apamin (0.1 μm) inhibited the evoked i.j.p. and the combined administration of the two agents almost abolished it. In the presence of both l‐NOARG and apamin, an atropine‐resistant e.j.p. was the only electrical response evoked by EFS in 50% of cases and a small i.j.p. (10% of original amplitude) followed by e.j.p. was evident in the remainder. 3 In the presence of l‐NOARG and apamin, the tachykinin NK1 receptor antagonists, (±)‐CP 96,345 and GR 82,334 (10 nm − 3 μm) concentration‐dependently inhibited the atropine‐resistant e.j.p. and accompanying contraction evoked by EFS. EC50 values were: 0.77 μm (e.j.p. inhibition) and 0.22 μm (inhibition of contraction) for (±)‐CP 96,345; 0.61 μm (e.j.p. inhibition) and 0.20 μm (inhibition of contraction) for GR 82,334. The tachykinin NK2 receptor antagonists, MEN 10,376 (up to 3 μm) and SR 48,968 (up to 1 μm) had no effect on the atropine‐resistant e.j.p. MEN 10,376 (3 μm) but not SR 48,968 produced a slight inhibition of the evoked contraction. 4 (±)‐CP 96,345 (3 μm) and GR 82,334 (3 μm) markedly reduced (81 and 89% inhibition, respectively) the atropine‐resistant e.j.p. in the absence of l‐NOARG and apamin, without affecting the i.j.p. MEN 10,376 (3 μm) and SR 48,968 (1 μm) had no significant effect on noncholinergic i.j.p. and e.j.p. evoked in the absence of apamin and l‐NOARG. 5 The electrical and mechanical responses to the NK1 receptor agonist [Sar9]substance P (SP) sulfone were blocked by (±)‐CP 96,345 (3 μm) or GR 82,334 (3 μm) which, at the same concentration, failed to affect the responses to the NK2 receptor agonist [βAla8] neurokinin A (NKA) (4–10). In contrast, MEN 10,376 (3 μm) or SR 48,968 (1 μm) blocked the response to [βAla8]NKA(4–10) without affecting the response to [Sar9]SP sulfone. 6 In the presence of l‐NOARG and apamin, and in the absence of atropine, EFS of low pulse width (0.02–0.03 ms, other parameters as above) produced cholinergic e.j.ps and contraction which were unaffected by GR 82,334 (3 μm). (±)‐CP 96,345 (3 μm) produced 24% reduction in the area of the atropine‐sensitive e.j.p. without affecting the peak amplitude of e.j.p. or contraction. 7 These findings demonstrate that the noncholinergic e.j.ps and accompanying contraction of the circular muscle of the guinea‐pig colon are produced through activation of intramural tachykininergic nerves and that the resultant smooth muscle response is almost entirely mediated through NK1 receptors.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of antibody to the hepatitis B surface antigen-associated delta antigen

A blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for specific detection of antibody to the hepatitis B surface antigen-associated delta antigen. The sensitivity of ELISA was intermediate between that of previously described immunofluorescence and radioimmunological assays for anti-delta. Performance of ELISA was simple and required only ordinary and inexpensive laboratory equipment.
Comparative analysis of custom power devices for power quality improvement in non-linear loads

In the power system, nonlinear loads results in production of harmonics due to which load current waveform gets distorted. This gives rise to production of current harmonics from load side and they tend to flow towards the source through Point of Common Coupling (PCC). These current harmonics further gives rise to voltage harmonics on the source side due to which nearby consumers can be affected. Thus, it is recommended to control the current harmonics on the load side itself at PCC so that they cannot interfere with the neighbouring loads. So, to avoid power quality problems at the source, custom power technology is being adopted in which number of control techniques are used to improve power quality. In this paper, an attempt has been made for selection of various such custom power devices like Distribution Static Synchronous Compensator (DSTATCOM), Static VAR Compensator (SVC), Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR), Unified Power Quality Compensator (UPQC) for the improvement of power quality in manufacturing industries. Then a characteristic comparison of these devices has been done. The limits imposed by IEEE and IEC standards for power quality improvement have also been discussed.
Implementation of User-End Broker Policy to Improve the Reliability of Cloud Services

Outage in cloud computing services is a critical issue and is primarily attributed to the single data center connectivity. To address the cloud outage, this work proposes a model for the subscription and selection of more than one data center. Selection of data center can be determined by the usage of broker at the user ends itself. Provision of broker at user's end reduces the overhead at provider's end; as a result performance of cloud data center improves. For the selection of appropriate data center, broker takes the feedback from the available data centers, and select one of them. During the selection of cloud, their status up/down at that particular time is also considered. In case of outage at one data center, other can be selected from the available list. Broker also facilitates the homogeneous use of cloud by allotting the load to less congested data centers. Experimental results revealed that multiple data center approach is not only helpful in countering the outage as other data center can be selected from the broker but also the usage cost.
Resolution of human arm redundancy in point tasks by synthesizing two criteria

The human arm is kinematically redundant in the task of pointing. As a result, multiple arm configurations can be used to complete a pointing task in which the tip of the index finger is brought to a preselected point in a 3D space. The authors have developed a four degrees of freedom (DOF)model of the human arm with synthesis of two redundancy resolution criteria that were developed as an analytical tool for studying the positioning tasks. The two criteria were: (1) minimizing the angular joint displacement (Minimal Angular Displacement - MAD) and (2) averaging the limits of the shoulder joint range (Joint Range Availability - JRA). As part of the experimental protocol conducted with ten subjects, the kinematics of the human arm was acquired with a motion capturing system in a 3D space. The redundant joint angles predicted by a equally weighted model synthesizing the MAD and JRA criteria resulted with a linear correlation with the experimental data (slope=0.88; offset=1⁰; r 2 =0.52). Given the experiment protocol, individual criterion showed weaker correlation with experimental data (MAD slope=0.57, offset=14⁰, r 2 =0.36 or JRA slope=0.84, offset=-1⁰, r 2 =0.45). Solving the inverse kinematics problem of articulated redundant serials mechanism such as a human or a robotic arm has applications in fields of human-robot interaction and wearable robotics, ergonomics, and computer graphics animation.