bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Experimental and numerical validation of vibration-based sound power measurements of arbitrarily curved panels
Authors: Bates Trent P. , Bacon Ian C. , Sommerfeldt Scott D. , Blotter Jonathan D.
Published: November 2021

Vibration-based sound power (VBSP) measurement methods are of interest due to their potential versatility in application compared to methods based on sound-pressure or sound-intensity. The VBSP method is based on the elementary radiator approach that relies on the acoustic radiation resistance matrix. Previous work has validated the form of the radiation resistance matrix for flat plates, cylindrical- and spherical-shells, and simple-curved plates. A form specific to arbitrarily curved structures has not been developed. Experimental VBSP measurements of two arbitrarily curved panels are shown to have excellent agreement with results from the ISO 3741 method. The VBSP method was applied by using the simple-curved plate form of the radiation resistance matrix and mapping each arbitrarily curved panel with a constant-radius curve fit. Numerical boundary element models, that inherently use the true form of the radiation resistance matrix, were also used to compute the sound power from the same curved panels. Surface velocity data from the numerical models were used to also compute sound power using the VBSP method with the simple-curved plate form of the radiation resistance matrix. Sound power results show excellent agreement between the numerical model and VBSP method. [Work supported by the National Science Foundation.]
What does parity mean? A detailed comparison of ASR and human transcription errors
Authors: Mansfield Courtney , Ng Sara , Levow Gina-Anne , Ostendorf Mari , Wright Richard A.
Published: November 2021

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) has seen dramatic improvements as a result of advances in deep learning. This has led several recent studies to conclude that ASR is approaching parity with human performance, at least in certain speech contexts. These studies use average word error rate (WER) as their primary evaluation metric, dividing the total insertions + substitutions + deletions by the reference length (WER = (I + D+S)/Nr), to compare ASR systems to human transcribers. Averaging combined error types obscures important differences between human and ASR error patterns which impact human comprehension of the output. Human transcribers tend to delete pragmatic and discourse markers (such as fillers and backchannels) and disfluencies, whereas ASR tends to make more substitution errors on words. In conversational settings listeners are able to recover from missing discourse markers, function words, or backchannels, but word substitutions are harder to recover from because they interrupt the information flow. WER is a reasonable first pass metric of ASR performance, but when it comes to communicative parity, it averages out important ways in which it differs from human transcription.
Why ASR + NLP isn't enough for commercial language technology
Authors: Tatman Rachael
Published: November 2021

With an increasing commercial demand for speech interfaces to be integrated into language technology, many technologists have made an unfortunate discovery: combining existing automatic speech recognition (ASR) and natural language processing (NLP) systems often leads to disappointing results. This talk will discuss two factors that contribute to this disparity and make some general suggestions for language technologists and researchers looking to work with tem. The first is the greater degree of variation in speech than text (at least in languages like English) which can lead to higher error rates overall. The second is a mismatch in domain. Modern machine learning approaches to language technology are very sensitive to differences between datasets and (due in part to the disciplinary division between researchers working on language technology for speech and text) most NLP applications have not been trained on speech data.
APhL aligner: A neural network forced-alignment system
Authors: Kelley Matthew C. , Perry Scott J. , Tucker Benjamin V.
Published: November 2021

Forced alignment is increasingly used in phonetics to automatically produce boundaries between words and phones. These boundaries can have significant errors and are often only placed at some predetermined time interval, like every 10 ms. We discuss some potential remedies to these difficulties and test them in a new neural network-based forced alignment system called the APhL Aligner, trained on the TIMIT and Buckeye speech corpora. In part, errors incurred during forced alignment can be attributed to the acoustic models that attempt to separate phones from each other. Even state-of-the-art neural network models struggle to acoustically separate phones. We examine the effect of relaxing the requirement to separate phones by instead training separate detectors for each phone class. Resolving the 10 ms interval difficulty requires a different approach. As with most aligners, we perform a Viterbi-style alignment to align windows of audio spaced at 10 ms to the phone string given by a pronunciation dictionary. We add an additional step, however, and use linear interpolation to determine an intermediate point after the 10 ms interval to place the boundary. We compare the results of these manipulations to the results of the Montreal Forced Aligner, custom-trained on the same data.
Real-time joint dereverberation and speech enhancement for hearing aid applications using edge devices
Authors: Shreedhar Bhat Gautam , Shankar Nikhil , Panahi Issa
Published: November 2021

In this work, we propose a joint dereverberation and speech enhancement technique for real-time applications. Speech dereverberation is based on the coherent-to-diffuse energy ratio (CDR) measured from the direction-of-arrival (DOA) dependent complex spatial coherence function. A personalized speech enhancement (SE) technique based on joint maximum a posteriori probability (JMAP) estimation that inherently accounts for the effects of changes in acoustic path and reverberation is used. The combination of these masking functions is used to enhance the speech corrupted by reverberation and noise in a frame-by-frame process. The proposed method is implemented on the smartphone (edge device), to illustrate real-time usability. The efficiency of the proposed method is evaluated using speech quality and intelligibility measures and compared with that of other benchmark techniques.
Classification of respiratory diseases based on lung and cough sound using convolutional neural network
Authors: Arifianto Dhany , Zanjabila Zanjabila , Putri Puspita Y. , Firda Jamiatul
Published: November 2021

Accurate non-invasive methods for detecting respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, are needed to suppress the potential of infection deployment to medical personnel when assessing the patient. In this report, we proposed respiratory diseases detection based on the cough and lung sounds of the patient. The recorded cough and lung sounds are processed for obtaining the mel frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC) which is used as classification features. The features are then used for data training on deep learning models using convolutional neural networks (CNN). The result showed that the model can classify respiratory diseases with high accuracy compared with the prior studies.
Normal-incidence bottom loss measurements over a sand-mud gradient and comparison to direct seabed measurements
Authors: Lee Kevin M. , Ballard Megan S. , Venegas Gabriel R. , Clemo W. Cyrus , Dorgan Kelly M. , Brilli Nick , Stark Nina , Calantoni Joseph
Published: November 2021

Seabed variability introduced by physical or biogenic processes contributes to multi-scale horizontal and vertical variability in seabed acoustic and geotechnical properties. An experiment was conducted near the mouth of Mobile Bay to investigate such spatial variability over a mud-sand gradient. A normal-incidence bottom loss survey was conducted on a 750 × 1500 m2 grid with 50-m track-line spacing, in which a broadband acoustic source transmitted frequency-modulated chirps (1–100 kHz) every second, resulting in dense sampling of the seabed reflection coefficient over a wide frequency band. Diver cores were collected in the survey area for direct analysis of near-surface seabed properties. Cores were acoustically logged to obtain vertical profiles of sound speed and attenuation (10–1000 kHz) and then analyzed for physical properties (porosity, grain size, carbon content), infauna community composition, and sediment strength properties. Additionally, in situ portable free fall penetrometer measurements were conducted within the survey area to characterize geotechnical properties within the upper 50 cm of the sediment. Spatial distributions of properties estimated from bottom loss measurements (e.g. porosity and sound speed) will be compared with vertical profiles from the cores and from the penetrometer to examine potential connections between seabed acoustic, geotechnical, and biological parameters. [Sponsored by ONR.]
Examination of a humpback whale subsurface foraging on patchy prey in Juan de Fuca Strait
Authors: Reidy Rhonda , Gauthier Stephane , Cowen Laura , Juanes Francis
Published: November 2021

Contemporary data for humpback whale prey in British Columbia, Canada, are biased toward prey types that require surface feeding, with no information on the whales’ feeding behaviour at depth on alternative prey sources. Here, we present evidence that a humpback whale in Juan de Fuca Strait was subsurface feeding on juvenile pollock. We combined data from a multisensor, animal-borne tag with a vessel-mounted, Acoustic Zooplankton and Fish Profiler to describe the foraging effort of the whale relative to its prey. Analysis of a fecal sample from the tagged whale also revealed juvenile pollock. This work suggests a comprehensive sampling framework for the deeper foraging humpback whales in B.C. that are difficult to access for setting up quantitative data collection programs.
Can a 38 and 200 kHz broadband echosounder differentiate copepods, other zooplankton, and hydrographic sources of backscatter?
Authors: Warren Joseph , Blair Hannah , Lucca Brandyn M. , Keiling Toniann , Carlowicz Rachel , Escalante Monique
Published: November 2021

Zooplankton are a diverse group of organisms representing multiple taxonomic categories with very different acoustic scattering characteristics. While net and optical sampling methods can provide species (or higher)-level organism identification, they can not match the high spatial resolution and large sampling volume of active acoustic echosounders. A challenge in interpreting backscatter data though is when different types of animals co-occur, and exacerbating this problem is when the animals are concentrated (either actively or passively) through turbulent processes or variations in density and soundspeed which also scatter sound. Broadband backscatter data and net tows were collected in three different parts of the Northwest Atlantic (New York Bight, Cape Cod Bay, and Gulf of Maine) where copepods (and other small zooplankton) were abundant in the upper portion of the water column. The ability of a dual-frequency (38 and 200 kHz miniWBT) broadband echosounder to measure copepod abundance are discussed relative to: the use of additional frequencies, zooplankton abundance and species diversity, and physical oceanographic data.
Ecosystem monitoring of a seagrass meadow using wideband acoustic measurements
Authors: Ballard Megan S. , Lee Kevin M. , McNeese Andrew R. , Venegas Gabriel R. , Rahman Abdullah F. , Zeh Matthew C. , Wilson Preston S.
Published: November 2021

Seagrasses are sentinel species whose sensitivity to changing water conditions makes it an indicator for sea level rise and climate change. The biological processes and physical characteristics associated with seagrass are known to affect acoustic propagation due to gas bodies contained within the seagrass tissue as well as photosynthesis-driven bubble production that results in free gas in the water. In this work, acoustical methods are applied to assess the health of seagrass meadows using a ray-based model that includes losses due to the dispersion, absorption and scattering of sound related to the gas bodies in the seagrass tissue and free bubbles in the water. The approach is applied to data collected in the Lower Laguna Madre where the seabed was covered by a dense growth of Thalassia testudinum. During the experiment, a piezoelectric source transmitted frequency-modulated chirps (0.1 to 100 kHz) over a four-day period. At the peak of photosynthesis-driven bubble production in the late afternoon, an additional decrease in the received level of more than 10 dB was observed. The volume fraction of gas present in the environment is estimated through acoustic modeling and related to seagrass biomass and photosynthesis. [Work supported by ARL IR&D and ONR.]
Preliminary report on the functional changes associated with burst wave lithotripsy treated pig kidneys
Authors: Connors Bret A. , Gardner Tony , Liu Ziyue , Lingeman James E. , Williams James C.
Published: November 2021

Burst Wave Lithotripsy (BWL) is a new stone treatment that utilizes ultrasound to fracture renal calculi. However, it is not known if BWL alters renal function, so we tested if a clinical dose of BWL impacts glomerular filtration rate (GFR) or kidney blood flow. Treatment consisted of placing each pig (32–42 kg) on its side, locating the lower pole of the right kidney, and treating that kidney with a BWL dose of 18,000 ultrasound pulses at 10Hz, 20 cycles/pulse and a peak negative pressure of −7 MPa (n = 6). Six additional pigs were used as sham controls. Inulin and para-aminohippuric acid (PAH) were infused into the pigs with blood and urine samples being collected both before and 1-h after BWL treatment. The concentrations of inulin and PAH were determined in the samples and used to calculate GFR and effective renal plasma flow (eRPF). For the BWL treated group, GFR and eRPF did not change after BWL exposure (−6.7 ± 7.2% for GFR, −10.9 ± 5.5% for eRPF), and this response was like the sham control group (P = 0.23 for GFR, P = 0.08 for eRPF). A typical clinical dose of BWL caused no change in renal function. [Work supported by NIH, Grant P01 DK43881.]
First fragmentation of stones in humans by burst wave lithotripsy
Authors: Harper Jonathan D. , Lingeman James E. , Metzler Ian , Sweet Robert M. , Williams James C. , Maxwell Adam , Thiel Jeff , Cunitz Bryan W. , Dunmire Barbrina , Bailey Michael R. , Sorensen Mathew D.
Published: November 2021

We report stone comminution in the first 18 human subjects by burst wave lithotripsy (BWL). Subjects undergoing clinical ureteroscopy (URS) for at least one stone ≤12 mm on computed tomography (CT) are recruited. During the planned URS, either before or after ureteroscope insertion, BWL is administered with a handheld probe for 10 min, and any stone fragmentation and tissue injury are observed. The primary effectiveness outcome is the volume percent comminution of the stone into fragments ≤2 mm, where fragment volume is determined by μCT of basketed fragments or image processing of the URS video using the laser fiber as a size reference. The primary safety outcome is independent, blinded grading of tissue injury from the URS video. Overall, 10 of 22 stones (45%) fragmented completely in 10 min. 64% and 73% were projected to fragment completely in 15 and 40 min, respectively. For reference, shock wave lithotripsy success is about 65% to fragments ≤4 mm in 40 min. Of the other six stones, one was larger than the beamwidth, two were smaller than the wavelength, and the ureteroscope introduced air bubbles around another. Only mild reddening with some hematuria was observed ureteroscopically. [Work supported by NIH-P01-DK04331.]
Acoustic manipulation of objects in vivo
Authors: Ghanem Mohamed A. , Maxwell Adam , Wang Yak-Nam , Cunitz Bryan W. , Khokhlova Vera A. , Sapozhnikov Oleg A. , Bailey Michael R.
Published: November 2021

Acoustic radiation forces can trap and manipulate objects in three-dimensional space (3D). The state of the art in acoustic trapping has demonstrated the ability to move small or lightweight objects using single or multiple transducers. For certain medical applications, acoustic manipulation can be utilized to control foreign objects in the body, such as kidney stones. However, difficulties from these applications include the ability to control large solid objects, transmitting robust acoustic beams through the skin, and the use of a single source due to limited acoustic window in the body. The goal of this work was to use a 1.5 MHz, focused, multi-element array to synthesize specific acoustic beams to trap, levitate, and steer kidney stone models (glass spheres) in a water bath and urinary bladders of live pigs. Stable acoustic traps were investigated numerically and experimentally in water bath to design a protocol for the 3D manipulation strategies used invivo. Three programmed path were used to levitate and manipulate glass spheres in live pigs. The motion was recorded using a camera and a synchronized ultrasound imaging probe. Deviation from the intended paths was on average <10%. [Work supported by NIH P01-DK043881, K01-DK104854, R01EB7643, and RFBR 20-02-00139.]
Processing methods for the detection of landmark acoustic cues
Authors: Shi Belinda , Choi Jeung-Yoon , Shattuck-Hufnagel Stefanie
Published: November 2021

Landmarks (Stevens, 2002) are acoustic cues that are correlated with certain changes in speech articulation, and can be used to infer some of the distinctive features useful for speech recognition, largely the manner features. This project identifies and organizes the processing steps involved in extracting eight types of Landmark acoustic cues for a feature-based hierarchical automatic speech recognition system, in which each module detects one landmark cue from samples of continuous speech, based on knowledge about human speech production and acoustic measurements such as formant frequency and energy. It maps out the processing steps necessary to accurately detect speech Landmarks, and describes a standardized system of modules implemented in Matlab that can accurately identify each of the Landmark cues in speech files quickly and efficiently. The processing methods laid out in this project provide a framework that can be later extended to find other acoustic cues related to place and voicing.
A strategy for correcting errors in automated formant extraction
Authors: Johnson Lisa M.
Published: November 2021

Sociophonetic vowel analysis relies heavily on measurements of resonant frequencies, particularly of the first and second formants. Automated formant estimation using linear predictive coding (LPC) algorithms in software like Praat greatly increases efficiency compared to hand measurements and allows researchers to analyze more data than was possible before this technological advancement. However, LPC analysis is prone to certain types of errors (e.g., Di Paolo et al., 2011; Harrison, 2013; Labov et al., 2006; Strelluf, 2019; Styler, 2017). In one common error, which I call “faulty low F2” (FLF2), LPC identifies a spectral peak between F1 and F2 as an F2 measurement. In automated extraction, the real F2 is then recorded as F3. Manually correcting these errors is time-consuming, potentially erasing the gains made by automated extraction. However, a systematic error suggests the possibility of a systematic solution. This presentation describes a method for identifying and correcting FLF2 errors using a script in R. The script identifies possible errors based on expected ranges and trajectories, determines whether the recorded F3 at the measurement point meets the criteria for a legitimate F2, and makes substitutions where appropriate. Results of tests with real data are presented. [Work supported by NSF #XXXXXXX.]
The effects of audio compression on voice quality measurements
Authors: Pena Jailyn M. , Mason Alicia , Davidson Lisa
Published: November 2021

This study examines audio compression effects on HNR <3500Hz, cepstral peak prominence (CPP), F0, H1*-H2*, H1*-A2*, and H4*-2K between uncompressed .wav files and the same files compressed to .mp3 and reconverted to .wav. Modal, breathy, and creaky vowels in Mazatec and !Xóõ were analyzed to examine compression effects both cross-linguistically and across phonation types. Statistical results showed no main effect of compression on HNR or CPP for Mazatec, but compression lowered both measures for !Xóõ. Interactions further revealed that compression lowered HNR for breathy vowels, but raised HNR for creaky vowels in both languages, while HNR and CPP for modal !Xóõ vowels decreased. F0 was lowered for breathy vowels, but raised for modal and creaky vowels in Mazatec. Conversely, compression raised F0 for breathy vowels and lowered it for creaky vowels in !Xóõ. For spectral measures, compression lowered H1*-H2* and H1*-A2* for breathy and modal !Xóõ vowels but raised these measures for creaky vowels. Compression also raised H4*-H2K* for breathy !Xóõ vowels and lowered it for creaky vowels. These results indicate that compression affects common voice quality measures unequally both cross-linguistically and between phonation types within languages, making the use of compressed and reconverted sound files risky for acoustic analysis.
The X chromosome dosage compensation program during the development of cynomolgus monkeys
Authors: Okamoto Ikuhiro , Nakamura Tomonori , Sasaki Kotaro , Yabuta Yukihiro , Iwatani Chizuru , Tsuchiya Hideaki , Nakamura Shin-ichiro , Ema Masatsugu , Yamamoto Takuya , Saitou Mitinori
Published: November 2021

X chromosome activity in primates

Mammalian X and Y sex chromosomes differ greatly in structure and gene content. Therefore, mechanisms are in place to ensure that there is balanced gene dosage between the X chromosome and autosomes and between the sexes. Quite a bit is known about dosage compensation in mice; however, the mechanism in primates, including humans, is less clear. Okamoto
et al
. reveal that in cynomolgus monkeys, the X chromosomes display repressive modifications and compacted structure before being chosen as active or inactive X chromosomes (see the Perspective by Heard and Rougeulle). This work elucidates the pathway, timing, and progression of X chromosome dosage compensation during monkey development, creating a foundation for elucidating this mechanism in other primates, including humans. —BAP
Comment on “A global environmental crisis 42,000 years ago”
Authors: Hawks John
Published: November 2021

Cooper
et al
. (Research Articles, 19 February 2021, p. 811) propose that a weakening geomagnetic field prior to the Laschamps Excursion explains megafaunal extinctions and human cultural changes that they claim happened 42,000 years ago. However, these authors misrepresent both the data and interpretations of cited work on extinctions and human cultural changes, so the specific claims they make about extinctions and cultural changes are false.
Pauli blocking of light scattering in degenerate fermions
Authors: Margalit Yair , Lu Yu-Kun , Top Furkan Çağrı , Ketterle Wolfgang
Published: November 2021

Photons not welcome

Two identical fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state, or so says the Pauli principle. For a cold gas of fermionic atoms, this means that all states up to the Fermi energy will be occupied, with only the atoms with the highest energy able to change their state. Such conditions have long been predicted to suppress light scattering off gases because the atoms receiving a kick from collisions with photons would have no state to move to. Deb
et al
., Margalit
et al
., and Sanner
et al
. now describe this so-called Pauli blocking of light scattering. —JS
No vacancy in the Fermi sea
Authors: DeMarco Brian , Thywissen Joseph H.
Published: November 2021

Optical transparency is increased by the Pauli principle in ultracold atom gases
Incomplete Indigenous landscapes
Prophets and Ghosts: The Story of Salvage Anthropology
Samuel J. Redman
Harvard University Press, 2021. 328 pp.
Authors: Steeves Paulette
Published: November 2021

A new text confronts how bias tainted efforts to preserve native cultures of the Americas
High-flying wildfire smoke poses potential threat to ozone layer
Authors: Voosen Paul
Published: November 2021

Record Arctic ozone loss linked to Siberian wildfires
Genomic Sequencing of Ranavirus Isolates from a Three-Spined Stickleback (
Gasterosteus aculeatus
) and a Red-Legged Frog (
Rana aurora
)
Authors: Conrad Cody R. K. , Subramaniam Kuttichantran , Chinchar V. Gregory , Waltzek Thomas B.
Published: November 2021

Two ranavirus isolates were recovered during a wildlife disease investigation in California in 1996. Preliminary testing at the time of sample collection indicated that the two isolates were identical. Phylogenetic analysis of the full genomes of these two isolates revealed that they are a single strain of frog virus 3.
Complete Genome Sequences of Gram-Negative Opportunistic Pathogens Isolated in Hospitals in Almaty, Kazakhstan
Authors: Korotetskiy Ilya S. , Jumagaziyeva Ardak B. , Kerimzhanova Bahkytzhan , Reva Oleg N. , Shilov Sergey V. , Kuznetsova Tatyana , Zubenko Natalya , Korotetskaya Nadezhda , Bekmukhamedova Aimana , Satylgankyzy Ganiya , Klivleyeva Nailya G.
Published: November 2021

The problem of nosocomial infections is growing due to the introduction of new treatment regimens involving immunosuppressive drugs. The genomes of seven Gram-negative clinical isolates of
Escherichia
,
Klebsiella
, and
Pseudomonas
were sequenced and analyzed in this study to serve as model microorganisms to study drug-induced antibiotic resistance reversion.
Prolidase deficiency in an infant with an incidental finding of methaemoglobinaemia
Authors: Tan Chern Yan , Kothandaraman Easwari , Ghosh Arunabha
Published: November 2021

A 4-week-old boy presented to the hospital with symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting initially thought to be due to cow’s milk allergy. He was discharged with extensively hydrolysed formula. The patient represented with worsening of symptoms with metabolic acidosis and was screened and treated for sepsis. However, his condition deteriorated further and he developed methaemoglobinaemia. He was transferred to the high dependency unit and was given two doses of methylene blue. Further investigations were carried out, including rapid trio exome sequencing, which identified a homozygous pathogenic Peptidase D(PEPD)variant (c.978G>A, p.(Trp326*)). This was consistent with a diagnosis of prolidase deficiency.
Percutaneous balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty in a young lady with coexisting repaired patent ductus arteriosus
Authors: Bhattacharyya Pranab Jyoti , Yadav Arun Kumar , Prabhat Kumar Pankaj
Published: November 2021

An asymptomatic woman aged 24 years was informed about the presence of a heart murmur by her attending obstetrician while she was hospitalised for a spontaneous abortion 6 months ago and was subsequently referred to us to rule out underlying heart disease. After clinical examination and relevant laboratory evaluation, a diagnosis of severe valvular pulmonary stenosis (PS) was established. Interestingly, our patient had undergone an open thoracotomy for surgical closure of a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) under general anaesthesia 12 years ago in the absence of any appreciable shunt across the ligated ductus at present. Considering the severe gradient across her pulmonary valve, she underwent a successful percutaneous balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty (PBPV) procedure with excellent haemodynamic outcome. The pertinent literature concerning the rare combination of PDA in association with PS as well as the technicalities of PBPV procedure in an adult are discussed.
‘You just prefer to die early!’: how socioecological context impedes treatment for people living with HIV in Iran
Authors: Ameli Vira , Taj Leila , Barlow Jane , Sabin Lora , Meinck Franziska , Haberer Jessica , Mohraz Minoo
Published: November 2021

Introduction

Despite the low prevalence of HIV and broad provision of antiretroviral therapy, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains the only region where new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are not declining. There is a dearth of evidence from MENA on antiretroviral therapy engagement. In this qualitative study, we sought to identify the ways in which successful treatment is hindered in Iran, which is home to 24% of HIV infections in MENA.

Methods

From August 2018 to January 2019, we used purposive sampling and conducted 12 individual interviews and 8 focus group discussions with 27 female and 31 male patients, in addition to 5 individual interviews with HIV care providers and 1 focus group discussion with 8 care providers. Social constructivism augmented with realist-informed thematic analysis was used to understand how the socioecological context triggers cognitive and affective mechanisms that disrupt antiretroviral therapy.

Results

The use of Thematic Network Analysis resulted in the identification of three key cognitive and affective mechanisms that appear to shape treatment experience and are triggered via HIV’s socioecological context and changing economic conditions in Iran: denial in response to societal negative perceptions of HIV; fear in response to societal lack of awareness regarding HIV and misinformation; and despair in response to HIV-related stigma and enacted discrimination, economic insecurity and social support.

Conclusions

To our knowledge, this is the first study within MENA to identify pathways through which successful treatment is hindered. It appears that lack of societal awareness regarding HIV is specific to low prevalence settings, such as MENA countries, where negative perceptions, stigma, discrimination and misinformation regarding HIV and its treatment produce denial, fear and despair, acting as mechanisms that disrupt antiretroviral therapy. The experience of despair, in response to changing economic conditions and social support, further impacts treatment experience.
Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for rapid detection of viable but non-culturable Vibrio cholerae O1
Authors: Chamanrokh Parastoo , Colwell Rita R. , Huq Anwar
Published: November 2021

Vibrio cholerae, an important waterborne pathogen, is a rod-shaped bacterium that naturally exists in aquatic environments. When conditions are unfavorable for growth, the bacterium can undergo morphological and physiological changes to assume a coccoid morphology. This stage in its life cycle is referred to as viable but non-culturable (VBNC) because VBNC cells do not grow on conventional bacteriological culture media. The current study compared polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) to detect and identify VBNC V. cholerae. Because it is difficult to detect and identify VBNC V. cholerae, the results of the current study are useful in showing that LAMP is more sensitive and rapid than PCR in detecting and identifying non-culturable, coccoid forms of V. cholerae. Furthermore, the LAMP method is effective in detecting and identifying very low numbers of coccoid VBNC V. cholerae in environmental water samples, with the added benefit of being inexpensive to perform.
Ecosystem services decision support tools: exploring the implementation gap in Canada
Authors: Kerr Gillian L. , Holzer Jennifer M. , Baird Julia , Hickey Gordon. M.
Published: November 2021

This paper explores the degree to which the ecosystem services (ES) concept and related tools have been integrated and implemented within the Canadian government context at both the provincial/territorial and federal levels. The research goals of the study were to qualitatively assess the extent to which ES assessment is being integrated at different levels of government, consider the barriers to implementation, and draw lessons from the development and use of Canada’s Ecosystem Services Toolkit: Completing and Using Ecosystem Service Assessment for Decision-Making—An Interdisciplinary Toolkit for Managers and Analysts (2017), jointly developed by a federal, provincial, and territorial government task force. Primary data were collected through targeted semi-structured interviews with key informants combined with a content analysis of ES-related documentation from government websites. Results indicate that while the term ES is found in documentation across different levels of government, there appears to be an ES implementation gap. Issues of conceptual understanding, path dependency, a lack of regulatory mandate, lost staff expertise, and competition with overlapping conceptual approaches were identified as barriers to ES uptake. Areas requiring further policy and research attention are identified.
Small 𝜃13 and solar neutrino oscillation parameters from μ − τ symmetry
Authors: Pérez-Lorenzana Abdel
Published: November 2021

Exchange [Formula: see text] symmetry in the effective Majorana neutrino mass matrix does predict a maximal mixing for atmospheric neutrino oscillations asides to a null mixing that cannot be straightforwardly identified with reactor neutrino oscillation mixing, [Formula: see text], unless a specific ordering is assumed for the mass eigenstates. Otherwise, a nonzero value for [Formula: see text] is predicted already at the level of an exact symmetry. In this case, solar neutrino mixing and scale, as well as the correct atmospheric mixing arise from the breaking of the symmetry. I present a mass matrix proposal for normal hierarchy that realizes this scenario, where the smallness of [Formula: see text] is naturally given by the parameter [Formula: see text] and the solar mixing is linked to the smallness of [Formula: see text]. The proposed matrix remains stable under renormalization effects and it also allows to account for CP violation within the expected region without further constrains.
Application of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods in Sustainable Manufacturing Management: A Systematic Literature Review and Analysis of the Prospects
Authors: Pelissari Renata , Khan Sharfuddin Ahmed , Ben-Amor Sarah
Published: November 2021

Due to increasing environmental regulation and customers’ demand for environmentally friendly products, organizations have been required to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices by implementing clean technology (Cleantec) to manufacture green products. By adopting environmental practices, organizations can also achieve qualitative and quantitative benefits that help them remain competitive in the market while meeting governmental environmental policies, such as lowering energy and the cost of materials. The significant number of articles addressing sustainability in manufacturing published in the past few years attests to the importance of the topic. However, not many studies have been developed to understand the decision-making process in sustainable manufacturing. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to conduct a systematic literature review on the application of multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) methods in sustainable manufacturing. A total of 158 papers, published between 2009 and 2018, met the criteria set in the research methodology. The 158 papers were then analyzed and classified into seven categories: (i) SM domain, (ii) activity within the organization, (iii) decision goals, (iv) decision-makers involved (group or individual), (v) uncertain data, (vi) SM aspects (social, environmental, and economic), and (vii) MADM methods. Among the results, we identified that AHP is the most applied MADM method and, regarding the activities of the organization, MADM methods have been the most frequently applied to strategy management and supply chain. We also identified a tendency to consider uncertain and imprecise data in the decision-making process. Another result is that all the three domains — economic, environmental and social — were considered in most of the papers, followed by the combination of the economic and environmental perspectives. In the conclusion, some recent trends and future research directions are highlighted.
Cosmological scenario in κ(R,T) gravity
Authors: Dixit Archana , Pradhan Anirudh , Chaubey Raghavendra
Published: November 2021

In this paper, we investigate the cosmic acceleration and the behavior of dark energy (DE) in the structure of the recently proposed [Formula: see text] gravity theory [G. R. P. Teruel, [Formula: see text] gravity, Eur. Phys. J. C 78 (2018) 660]. In this study, we obtained some fascinating cosmological features that are coherent with observational evidences and the touchstone [Formula: see text]CDM model. To find the deterministic solution, we consider a periodic deceleration parameter [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] [M. Shen and L. Zhao, Oscillating quintom model with time periodic varying deceleration parameter, Chin. Phys. Lett. 31 (2014) 010401], which predicts the decelerating and accelerating phases of the universe. The Equation of State (EoS) parameter also supports the idea of DE, which is the dominant component and it is responsible for the universe’s accelerated expansion. Here, we also construct cosmographic parameters, like, [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and studied their evolution in spatially flat [Formula: see text] gravity. We find that these observations are sufficient in comparison with the universe’s physical and kinematic properties and also consistent with ongoing (OHD[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]JLA) observation. Next, we apply the geometric diagnostics, the state-finder ([Formula: see text]) in [Formula: see text] gravity to discriminate from the [Formula: see text]CDM model. We found that our model lies in quintessence and the Chaplygin Gas region. Finally, the model approaches [Formula: see text]CDM at the present epoch of the universe.
Policy Note: Addressing the Crisis in Urban Water Access
Authors: Beard Victoria A. , Mitlin Diana
Published: November 2021

This paper highlights challenges of water access in towns and cities of the global South and explores potential policy responses. These challenges are not new, although, we argue that they have been underestimated by policy makers due to a focus on global data, thus, resulting in decision makers paying insufficient attention to these problems. Policies need to be based on a more accurate assessment of challenges, specifically the need for continuous and affordable water service, and the need to provide services to informal settlements. We share findings from research on 15 cities across Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
Simple Extensible Deep Learning Model for Automatic Arabic Diacritization
Authors: Abbad Hamza , Xiong Shengwu
Published: November 2021

Automatic diacritization is an Arabic natural language processing topic based on the sequence labeling task where the labels are the diacritics and the letters are the sequence elements. A letter can have from zero up to two diacritics. The dataset used was a subset of the preprocessed version of the Tashkeela corpus. We developed a deep learning model composed of a stack of four bidirectional long short-term memory hidden layers of the same size and an output layer at every level. The levels correspond to the groups that we classified the diacritics into (short vowels, double case-endings, Shadda, and Sukoon). Before training, the data were divided into input vectors containing letter indexes and outputs vectors containing the indexes of diacritics regarding their groups. Both input and output vectors are concatenated, then a sliding window operation with overlapping is performed to generate continuous and fixed-size data. Such data is used for both training and evaluation. Finally, we realize some tests using the standard metrics with all of their variations and compare our results with two recent state-of-the-art works. Our model achieved 3% diacritization error rate and 8.99% word error rate when including all letters. We have also generated the confusion matrix to show the performances per output and analyzed the mismatches of the first 500 lines to classify the model errors according to their linguistic nature.
A Conversation with Margo Seltzer and Mike Olson
Authors: Seltzer Margo , Olson Mike , McKusick Kirk
Published: November 2021

Kirk McKusick sat down with Margo Seltzer and Mike Olson to discuss the history of Berkeley DB, for which they won the ACM Software System Award in 2021. Kirk McKusick has spent his career as a BSD and FreeBSD developer. Margo Seltzer has spent her career as a professor of computer science and as an entrepreneur of database software companies. Mike Olson started his career as a software developer and later started and managed several open-source software companies. Berkeley DB is a production-quality, scalable, NoSQL, Open Source platform for embedded transactional data management.
A student-centered seminar course as a complementary approach to a traditional journal club
Authors: Rogers Alexandra , Toledano Michael , Hubbard Elizabeth , Macchia Desiree , Hui May , Beier Kevin T.
Published: November 2021

Graduate physiology programs strive to provide students with in-depth expertise in a particular academic discipline, often facilitating this process in the form of a departmental seminar course. Within the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of California Irvine (UCI), students are required to attend a seminar course, most often designed as a journal club, each quarter until they are ready to graduate. While this format may work well in departments where research topics are closely related, it has historically been less successful in UCI’s Department of Physiology and Biophysics, where wide-ranging interests make for little overlap in foundational knowledge, limiting meaningful engagement with the material or with peers in the class. In this paper, we describe a complementary approach of developing a syllabus around student interests and covering topics that are critical for student success but often omitted from graduate curricula, such as interview skills, grant writing, and scientific communication. Results from our preclass survey motivated this approach to the class, and our retrospective survey demonstrated the substantial differences in student engagement, enthusiasm, and perceived benefits of this course relative to the journal club style course. We hope that the success of our course may serve as an exemplar for strategies to engage students more effectively and provide critical training in diverse skillsets that will help students after graduation.
Skeletal myopathy in a rat model of postmenopausal heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
Authors: Kelley Rachel C. , Betancourt Lauren , Noriega Andrea M. , Brinson Suzanne C. , Curbelo-Bermudez Nuria , Hahn Dongwoo , Kumar Ravi A. , Balazic Eliza , Muscato Derek R. , Ryan Terence E. , van der Pijl Robbert J. , Shen Shengyi , Ottenheijm Coen A. C. , Ferreira Leonardo F.
Published: November 2021

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a condition with phenotype-specific features highly prevalent in postmenopausal women and skeletal myopathy contributing to disease development and progression. We advanced a rat model of postmenopausal HFpEF with key cardiovascular and systemic features of the disease. Our study shows that the skeletal myopathy of postmenopausal HFpEF includes loss of limb muscle-specific force independent of atrophy, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidized shift in redox balance.
Lack of increased rate of force development after strength training is explained by specific neural, not muscular, motor unit adaptations
Authors: Del Vecchio Alessandro , Casolo Andrea , Dideriksen Jakob Lund , Aagaard Per , Felici Francesco , Falla Deborah , Farina Dario
Published: November 2021

Although maximal force increases with strength training, the rate of force development may remain unaffected. For the first time, we associated motor unit population behavior during rapid force contractions before and after a 4-wk isometric strength training intervention. We found that strength training combined with slow and rapid contractions does not change rate of force development. The specific mechanisms include similar discharge rate during the initial phase of contraction and similar recruitment speed of motoneurons.
mTOR signaling-related microRNAs as cardiac hypertrophy modulators in high-volume endurance training
Authors: Pelozin Bruno R. A. , Soci Ursula P. R. , Gomes João L. P. , Oliveira Edilamar M. , Fernandes Tiago
Published: November 2021

Physiological hypertrophic growth of the heart as a compensatory response to exercise training (ET) is coupled with recent progress in dissecting the microRNA (miRNA)-mediated molecular basis of hypertrophy. Aerobic ET seems to reduce miRNA-16-5p and increase miRNA-26a-5p expression in a volume-dependent mode, activating protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways, and likely produces an enhanced left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in high-volume endurance training. New insight into these mechanisms can be useful in understanding physiological LVH and how it might be harnessed as a therapeutic application.
Repair of Acute Patellar Tendon Rupture Using an Internal Brace Technique
Authors: Fukuda Aki , Nakazora Shigeto , Nishimura Akinobu , Kato Ko
Published: November 2021

Acute patellar tendon rupture is a serious injury, resulting in the disruption of the knee extensor mechanism. Many authors recommend augmented repairs of patellar tendon ruptures to allow early active rehabilitation. An internal brace technique, which is a ligament augmentation using high-strength suture tape and knotless anchors, has been used as augmentation for the primary tendon or ligament injury. A case of acute patellar tendon rupture in a Judo player, who was successfully treated with primary repair and augmentation using an internal brace technique, is presented. In this case, the patient regained full function of the knee and returned to full sports activities postoperatively. An internal brace technique provides biomechanical stability of the repaired tendon without donor site morbidity and could be an effective procedure for the treatment of acute patellar tendon rupture.