Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parallel Gated Recurrent Unit Networks as an Encoder for Speech Recognition

Parallel Gated Recurrent Unit Networks as an Encoder for Speech Recognition. European Journal of Science and Technology , (36), 87-90. Abstract Listen, Attend and Spell (LAS) network is one of the end-to-end approaches for speech recognition, which does not require an explicit language model. It consists of two parts; the encoder part which receives acoustic features as inputs, and the decoder network which produces one character at a time step, based on the encoder output and an attention mechanism. Multi-layer recurrent neural networks (RNN) are used in both decoder and encoder parts. Hence, the LAS architecture can be simplified as one RNN for the decoder, and another RNN for the encoder. Their shapes and layer sizes can be different. In this work, we examined the performance of using multi RNNs for the encoder part. Our baseline LAS network uses an RNN with a hidden size of 256. We used 2 and 4 RNNs with hidden sizes of 128 and 64 for each case. The main idea behind the proposed approach is to focus the RNNs to different patterns (phonemes in this case) in the data. At the output of the encoder, their outputs are concatenated and fed to the decoder. TIMIT database is used to compare the performance of the mentioned networks, using phoneme error rate as the performance metric. The experimental results showed that proposed approach can achieve a better performance than the baseline network. However, increasing the number of RNNs does not guarantee further improvements.
Comprehensive review on spectrum sensing techniques in cognitive radio

In wireless communication, spectrum sensing (SS) is one of the important techniques to study about the radio environment. Spectrum sensing phenomenon is used to estimate the unutilized frequency band of whole radio spectrum. Utilization of available spectrum can be improved by enhancing the spectrum sensing techniques. The performance of available spectrum sensing techniques may degrade substantially in low signal to noise ratio, multipath fading & shadowing environments. This may lead to increase in probability of false alarms and decrease in probability of detection. This paper gives the categorization of different spectrum sensing techniques (SST) and it also explores the different methods used in spectrum sensing. Comparison of energy detector (ED), matched filter detection (MFD), cyclostationary feature detection (CFD), waveform detection (WD) and eigen value detection (EVD) based on their methodology and accuracy is also present in this paper. Various issues associated with these spectrum sensing techniques are highlighted here and futuristic solutions proposed for improvement in existing spectrum sensing techniques.
Investigation of the Role and Effectiveness of Chitosan Coating on Probiotic Microcapsules

Microencapsulation and coating are preferred methods to increase the viability of the probiotic strains. The effect of microencapsulation technologies and materials used as microcapsule cores on viability is being investigated during development. In the present study, chitosan-coated and Eudragit L100-55-coated alginate microspheres were produced to encapsulate Lactobacillus plantarum probiotic bacteria. After the heat loading and simulated gastrointestinal juice dissolution study, the differences in viability were compared based on the CFU/mL values of the samples. The kinetics of the bacterial release and the ratio of the released live/dead cells of Lactobacillus plantarum were examined by flow cytometry. In all cases, we found that the CFU value for the chitosan-coated samples was virtually zero. The ratio of live/dead cells in the 120 min samples was significantly reduced to less than 20% for chitosan, while it was nearly 90% in the uncoated and Eudragit L100-55-coated samples. In the case of chitosan, based on some published MIC values and the amount of chitosan coating determined in the present study, we concluded the reason for our results. It was the first time to determine the amount of the released chitosan coat of the dried microcapsule, which reached the MIC value during the dissolution studies.
Editorial 15-3 International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis

The methodology uses hedonic regression and propensity score matching econometric techniques to analyse the price of single-family housing prices. [. ]the study combines data about zoning changes at the parcel level with nearby housing sales transactions to study any potential externality effects because of rezoning induced by private parties. The seventh paper from South Africa examines the dynamic relationship between house prices and household income per capita in the lower- and low middle-income housing segments. The tenth paper from Australia examined the impact of the recently completed light rail on the level of residential property values.
Implementation Strategies for Mutable Value Semantics

Mutable value semantics is a programming discipline that upholds the independence of values to support local reasoning. In the discipline’s strictest form, references become second-class citizens: they are only created implicitly, at function boundaries, and cannot be stored in variables or object ﬁelds. Hence, variables can never share mutable state. Unlike pure functional programming, however, mutable value semantics allows part-wise in-place mutation, thereby eliminating the memory trafﬁc usually associated with functional updates of immutable data. This paper presents implementation strategies for compiling programs with mutable value semantics into efﬁcient native code. We study Swift, a programming language based on that discipline, through the lens of a core language that strips some of Swift’s features to focus on the semantics of its value types. The strategies that we introduce leverage the inherent properties of mutable value semantics to unlock aggressive optimizations. Fixed-size values are allocated on the stack, thereby enabling numerous off-the-shelf compiler optimizations, while dynamically sized containers use copy-on-write to mitigate copying costs.
The robustness of an experimental procedure to predict the stability threshold speed in rotating machinery

{High speed rotating machinery, with an operating speed above the first critical speed or above the first resonance frequency, is sensitive to instability. In this research, the robustness of an experimental procedure to predict the stability threshold speed in rotating machinery is discussed. The single degree of freedom model that is used in the experiments is discussed and the procedure is experimentally validated on a rotating damping setup. In this setup, the rotating damping is varied by means of tightening and loosening a flexible coupling. It is shown that it is possible to predict the stability threshold speed experimentally and that the rotor becomes unstable above this speed. }
Predictive scoring system for risk of complications in pediatric dengue infection

Background: Dengue infection has been a worrisome cause of mortality and morbidity in children. Though numerous scoring systems have been developed, they are in the adult population or are too complicated for use in children. Pediatric dengue infection has a wide spectrum from a mild illness to severe complications and an unpredictable course. Hence the need for a predictive scoring system where the possibility of complications can be identified which can contribute to reduction in mortality and morbidity of dengue by prompt referrals and anticipatory management. Methods: Prospective case cohort study of children with confirmed dengue fever. Results: 303 children were included and divided into two groups – the dengue fever group and the complicated dengue group based on the WHO clinical classification. The clinical and laboratory parameters were analysed individually, cut offs identified by ROC curves and compared for significance between the two groups. The parameters that emerged were hypotension, PCV ≥ 42%, platelet count ≤ 75000 cells/cumm, WBC ≥ 7000 cells/cumm, and ALT ≥ 70U/L. Using the adjusted odd’s Ratio, and coefficient, individual predictive scores were tabulated ranging from 0 to 3, with a total score of 0 to 7. A cut-off score of 2 was then identified based upon the sensitivity (84.13%) and specificity (72.50%) as the ideal score to predict complicated dengue. Internal validation of the score was done where the area under the curve for predicting complicated dengue was 0.86 (95% CI 0.8-0.92) with a P value of <0.001. Conclusion: Our dengue predictive scoring system has been developed using five indicators, with a score of two and above, out of seven, suggesting increased risk of developing complications. This has been validated internally and can be used to predict complicated dengue among children.
The why and how of sunken stomata: Does the behavior of encrypted stomata and the leaf cuticle matter?

BACKGROUND Stomatal pores in many species are separated from the free atmosphere by different anatomical obstacles produced by leaf epidermal cells, especially by sunken stomatal crypts, stomatal antechambers and/or hairs (trichomes). The evolutionary driving forces leading to sunken or "hidden" stomata whose antechambers are filled with hairs or waxy plugs are not fully understood. The available hypothetical explanations are based mainly on mathematical modelling of water and CO2 diffusion through superficial versus sunken stomata, and studies of comparative autecology. A better understanding of this phenomenon may result from examining the interactions between leaf cuticle and stomata and from functional comparisons of sunken versus superficially positioned stomata, especially when transpiration is low, for example at night or during severe drought. SCOPE I review recent ideas on why stomata are hidden and test experimentally whether hidden stomata may behave differently from those not covered by epidermal structures and so are coupled more closely to the free atmosphere. I also quantify the contribution of stomatal versus cuticular transpiration at night using four species with sunken stomata and three s with superficial stomata. CONCLUSIONS Partitioning of leaf conductance in darkness (gtw) into stomatal and cuticular contributions revealed that stomatal conductance dominated gtw across all 7 investigated species with differently pronounced antechambers. Hidden stomata contributed, on average, less to gtw (ca. 70 %) than superficial stomata (ca. 80 %) and reduced their contribution dramatically with increasing gtw. By contrast, species with superficial stomata kept their proportion in gtw invariant across a broad range of gtw. Mechanisms behind the specific behaviour of hidden stomata and multipurpose origin of sunken stomata are discussed.
Postural Balance in Relation with Vision and Physical Activity in Healthy Young Adults

Postural balance is an essential part of a wide range of activities, from daily living tasks to sports. Regularly repeated physical and/or sport activities improve both the postural performance and the postural strategy. The aim of our study was to evaluate if the physical activity level is a factor that influences postural balance performance, including the impact of vision and gender, in healthy young adults. Postural balance was assessed in 78 subjects (38 males and 40 females, aged 20.64 ± 1.18 years) by using the PoData system, in open (EO) and closed (EC) eye conditions. Based on the physical activity level, subjects were classified in two groups—low physical activity level (n = 36, 46.15%) and moderate physical activity level (n = 42, 53.85%). A group significant difference was found only for the average centre of pressure (CoP) deviations on the latero-lateral axis (CoPX), with a higher lateral deviation of the CoP (toward right) in the low physical activity group (F = 4.005, p = 0.04). CoP path length, the 90% confidence ellipse and maximum CoP speed were significantly increased in EC conditions. A statistically significant interaction effect (vision × physical activity) was observed for the CoP path length (F = 7.9, p = 0.006).
Elucidating Sequence and Structural Determinants of Carbohydrate Esterases for Complete Deacetylation of Substituted Xylans

Acetylated glucuronoxylan is one of the most common types of hemicellulose in nature. The structure is formed by a β-(1→4)-linked D-xylopyranosyl (Xylp) backbone that can be substituted with an acetyl group at O-2 and O-3 positions, and α-(1→2)-linked 4-O-methylglucopyranosyluronic acid (MeGlcpA). Acetyl xylan esterases (AcXE) that target mono- or doubly acetylated Xylp are well characterized; however, the previously studied AcXE from Flavobacterium johnsoniae (FjoAcXE) was the first to remove the acetyl group from 2-O-MeGlcpA-3-O-acetyl-substituted Xylp units, yet structural characteristics of these enzymes remain unspecified. Here, six homologs of FjoAcXE were produced and three crystal structures of the enzymes were solved. Two of them are complex structures, one with bound MeGlcpA and another with acetate. All homologs were confirmed to release acetate from 2-O-MeGlcpA-3-O-acetyl-substituted xylan, and the crystal structures point to key structural elements that might serve as defining features of this unclassified carbohydrate esterase family. Enzymes comprised two domains: N-terminal CBM domain and a C-terminal SGNH domain. In FjoAcXE and all studied homologs, the sequence motif around the catalytic serine is Gly-Asn-Ser-Ile (GNSI), which differs from other SGNH hydrolases. Binding by the MeGlcpA-Xylp ligand is directed by positively charged and highly conserved residues at the interface of the CBM and SGNH domains of the enzyme.
Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Experiences of Conducting Clinical Research Projects in Their Bachelor Theses – a Qualitative Study

Introduction The aim of educational institutions in the field of nursing is to educate nurses with the competences to provide high-quality care to their patients, meaning that students need to learn about evidence-based practice and how to translate the knowledge, skills, competency, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours into daily practice. The bachelor thesis is the ultimate test for undergraduate nursing students to present what they have learned. Objective The aim of this study was to explore undergraduate nursing students’ experiences of conducting clinical projects in their bachelor theses. Methods We used qualitative focus-group interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the students’ experiences of conducting clinical projects in their bachelor theses as an approach to learn about evidence-based practice. The analyses focused on meaning according to Brinkmann and Kvale. Results Eighteen out of 22 eligible students who had chosen to participate in ongoing clinical research projects and write an academic paper as their bachelor thesis were included in this study. The students were all females and divided into three focus groups. The clinical projects were conducted in a public hospital, a private hospital, nursing homes, or within home-care nursing. The analyses showed that conducting clinical projects in the bachelor thesis provided the students with important knowledge for providing evidence-based care and it. motivated them to want to initiate future clinical projects as nurses. , They got valuable hands-on experience for how to conduct research, and made the students aware of the importance of keeping themselves updated on the latest knowledge. Conclusion Conducting clinical research projects on a bachelor level provide undergraduate nursing students with important knowledge of how to provide evidence-based nursing care to their patients. Learning how to conduct clinical research projects is also important for motivating future nurses to initiate research aiming to improve clinical nursing practice.
Enumerating spanning trees of vertex-edge-growth graph

The problem of determining the number of spanning trees of graph having interesting structural properties such as the scale-free feature is attractive in science community. In this paper, we first present a class of outer-planar and self-similar graphs N(t) by using vertex-edge-growth operation. According to specific topological structure, we calculate the average degree, and show that the model N(t) is sparse. Then, we develop a series of iterative methods in order to obtain an exact solution of the total number of spanning trees of the model N(t), and also illustrate the corresponding spanning tree entropy. The calculation method used can be suitable for enumerating spanning trees of other graphs with similar properties.
Sky-Sorter: A Processing-in-Memory Architecture for Large-Scale Sorting

Sorting is one of the most important algorithms in computer science. Conventional CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and ASICs running sorting are fundamentally bottlenecked by the off-chip memory bandwidth, because of their von-Neumann architecture. Processing-near-memory (PNM) designs integrate a CPU, a GPU or an ASIC upon an HBM for sorting, but their sorting throughput are still limited by the HBM bandwidth and capacity. In this paper, we propose a skyrmion racetrack memory (SRM) -based PIM accelerator, <italic>Sky-Sorter</italic>, to enhance the sorting performance of large-scale datasets. Sky-Sorter implements samplesort which involves four steps, sampling, splitting marker sorting, partitioning, and bucket sorting. An SRM-based random number generator (TRNG) is used in Sky-Sorter to randomly sample records from the dataset. Sky-Sorter divides the large dataset into many buckets based on sampled splitting markers by our proposed SRM-based partitioner. Its partitioning throughput matches the off-chip memory bandwidth. We further designed an SRM-based sorting unit (SU) to sort all records of a bucket without introducing extra CMOS logic. Our SU uses the fast in-cell insertion characteristics of SRMs to implement and perform insertsort within a bucket. Sky-Sorter employs SUs to sort all buckets simultaneously by fully utilizing large internal array bandwidth. Compared to state-of-the-art accelerators, Sky-Sorter improves the throughput per Watt by <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim 4\times$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mo>∼</mml:mo><mml:mn>4</mml:mn><mml:mo>×</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="zokaee-ieq1-3169434.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>.
Current Status and Advances in Swine Wastewater Treatment Technology for Scaled Hoggery

The number of scaled hoggery has greatly increased in recent years,while the disposal methods of swine wastewater is relatively backward,which makes swine wastewater an important source of agricultural pollution. In this review, three modes of swine wastewater treatments for scaled hoggery are summarized, including land spreading, natural treatment and industrialized treatment. The applicability, basic content, research progress and application progress of each mode are expounded. New combined processes can take the advantages of several modes and therefore optimize the traditional processes. To achieve successive disposal and utilization of swine wastewater, it’s a potential trend to choose the structure model of combining farming and animal husbandry in agricultural ecosystem so as to balance the ecologic circle.
Deep Learning-based ASR using Cochleogram and Spectrogram Features Combination

This paper proposes various possibilities to combine cochleogram features with log-mel ﬁlter banks or spectrogram features within the DNN and CNN framework. Performance was evaluated on TIMIT phoneme sequence recognition task. The best accuracy was obtained by high-level combination of two dimensional cochleogram-spectrogram features using CNN, achieved up to 8.2% relative phoneme error rate (PER) reduction from CNN single features or 19.7% relative PER reduction from DNN single features.
Health Education-Based Effectiveness of Health Belief Model on Vulva Hygiene Behavior in Prevention of Vaginal Discharge for Pregnant Woman

Introduction: Leucorrhoea can endanger pregnancy and result premature labor. Health education is needed for good vulva hygiene behavior. This study aims to explain the effectiveness of Health Education (HE) based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) on Vulva Hygiene Behavior in the Prevention of Leucorrhoea in Pregnant Women. Method: The first stage of research was literature study, expert discussion, and development of an intervention module. The participants were pregnant women in the second trimester. The instrument is the researcher. An interview guide with a questionnaire. Qualitative data analysis. The second stage of research used the quasi-experimental design (pre and post-testdesign). The independent variable is Health Education based on the Health Belief Model (HBM). The dependent variable is the behavior of Vulva Hygiene in the prevention of vaginal discharge for pregnant women. An instrument with a questionnaire. Data collection through pre-test, intervention, post-test. The number of participants in each group was 30 participants. Research at the Kedungdoro Public Health Center in Surabaya from December 2019-October 2020. Result: The first stage of research, showed that several trimester II pregnant women performed vulva hygiene correctly and some did not know how to do vulva hygiene, some did not do vulva hygiene. The module consists of 4 themes. The Health Education (HE) experimental group based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) was effective on Vulva Hygiene behavior in preventing vaginal discharge in pregnant women with a value (P) = 0.000. The Health Education (He) control group based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) was not effective on vulva hygiene behavior in preventing vaginal discharge in pregnant women with a value (P) = 0.083. The results of the pre-test of vulva hygiene behavior in the prevention of vaginal discharge in the non-intervention group and the intervention group were not different with a value (P) of 0.488> 0.05. In the post-test of vulva hygiene behavior in the intervention group and the non-intervention group, there was a difference with a value (P) of 0.000 <0.05. Analysis: Through Health Education based on the Health Belief Model, it can increase the confidence of each individual to behave healthily, in the form of prevention and use of health facilities. The Health Belief Model (HBM) is the main framework for healthy behavior. This gives HBM a function as a preventive or preventive model. Discuss: The behavior of vulva hygiene in preventing vaginal discharge in pregnant women between the experimental group and the control group was a significant difference.