bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
TLCE: Transfer-Learning Based Classifier Ensembles for Few-Shot Class-Incremental Learning
Authors: Wang Shuangmei , Cao Yang , Wu Tieru 
Published: May 2024

AbstractFew-shot class-incremental learning (FSCIL) struggles to incrementally recognize novel classes from few examples without catastrophic forgetting of old classes or overfitting to new classes. We propose TLCE, which ensembles multiple pre-trained models to improve separation of novel and old classes. Specifically, we use episodic training to map images from old classes to quasi-orthogonal prototypes, which minimizes interference between old and new classes. Then, we incorporate the use of ensembling diverse pre-trained models to further tackle the challenge of data imbalance and enhance adaptation to novel classes. Extensive experiments on various datasets demonstrate that our transfer learning ensemble approach outperforms state-of-the-art FSCIL methods.
WaveVC: Speech and Fundamental Frequency Consistent Raw Audio Voice Conversion
Authors: Ko Kyungdeuk , Kim Donghyeon , Oh Kyungseok , Ko Hanseok 
Published: May 2024

AbstractVoice conversion (VC) is a task for changing the speech of a source speaker to the target voice while preserving linguistic information of the source speech. The existing VC methods typically use mel-spectrogram as both input and output, so a separate vocoder is required to transform mel-spectrogram into waveform. Therefore, the VC performance varies depending on the vocoder performance, and noisy speech can be generated due to problems such as train-test mismatch. In this paper, we propose a speech and fundamental frequency consistent raw audio voice conversion method called WaveVC. Unlike other methods, WaveVC does not require a separate vocoder and can perform VC directly on raw audio waveform using 1D convolution. This eliminates the issue of performance degradation caused by the train-test mismatch of the vocoder. In the training phase, WaveVC employs speech loss and F0 loss to preserve the content of the source speech and generate F0 consistent speech using the pre-trained networks. WaveVC is capable of converting voices while maintaining consistency in speech and fundamental frequency. In the test phase, the F0 feature of the source speech is concatenated with a content embedding vector to ensure the converted speech follows the fundamental frequency flow of the source speech. WaveVC achieves higher performances than baseline methods in both many-to-many VC and any-to-any VC. The converted samples are available online.
Multi-view Self-supervised Learning and Multi-scale Feature Fusion for Automatic Speech Recognition
Authors: Zhao Jingyu , Li Ruwei , Tian Maocun , An Weidong 
Published: May 2024

AbstractTo address the challenges of the poor representation capability and low data utilization rate of end-to-end speech recognition models in deep learning, this study proposes an end-to-end speech recognition model based on multi-scale feature fusion and multi-view self-supervised learning (MM-ASR). It adopts a multi-task learning paradigm for training. The proposed method emphasizes the importance of inter-layer information within shared encoders, aiming to enhance the model’s characterization capability via the multi-scale feature fusion module. Moreover, we apply multi-view self-supervised learning to effectively exploit data information. Our approach is rigorously evaluated on the Aishell-1 dataset and further validated its effectiveness on the English corpus WSJ. The experimental results demonstrate a noteworthy 4.6$$\%$$
%
reduction in character error rate, indicating significantly improved speech recognition performance . These findings showcase the effectiveness and potential of our proposed MM-ASR model for end-to-end speech recognition tasks.
A study on pulmonary function in children with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome
Authors: Zeng Chun-qin , Yuan Hu-wei , Wang Hao-cheng , Yang Hong , Teng Yi-shu 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Objective
To investigate the pulmonary function of children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Methods
A total of 328 children aged 3 to 12 years old who were evaluated for a sleep disorder from January 2022 to June 2023 were selected as the observation group, classified into mild, moderate, and severe categories based on the apnea hypopnea index. The number of children with mild, moderate, and severe obstructive sleep apnea is 228, 62, and 28 respectively. Additionally, 126 healthy individuals aged 3 to 13 years old undergoing health examinations during the same period were selected as the control group. All subjects underwent sleep respiratory monitoring, pulmonary function tests, and impulse oscillometry. Comparative analysis was performed on pulmonary function indices (forced vital capacity, maximum ventilation, inspiratory capacity, total lung capacity, and inspiratory reserve volume), and respiratory impedance indices (resonant frequency, total respiratory impedance, viscous resistance at 5 Hz, 20 Hz, and 35 Hz). Pulmonary function indices were also compared among patients in the observation group with mild, moderate, and severe conditions.

Results
In the observation group, the FVC pre% of patients decreased by 10.5 ± 5.99 compared to the control group. The MVV of the control group decreased by 28.10 ± 2.22 compared to patients in the observation group. The IC of the control group decreased by 0.68 ± 0.44 compared to patients in the observation group. The TLC of the control group decreased by 1.354 ± 0.51 compared to patients in the observation group. The ERV of the control group decreased by 0.53 ± 0.30 compared to patients in the observation group. Additionally, the Fres, Zrs, R5, R20, and R35 of the observation group were higher than those of the control group by 10.73 ± 0.18, 1.78 ± 0.24, 0.11 ± 0.17, 0.86 ± 0.13, and 0.02 ± 0.21, respectively. In sum, the pulmonary function indices of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group, while the respiratory impedance indices were higher (P < 0.05). Within the observation group, the pulmonary function indices of severe patients were lower than those of moderate and mild patients, and moderate patients had lower pulmonary function indices than mild patients (P < 0.05).

Conclusion
The pulmonary function of children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is impaired and varies in severity. There are significant differences in pulmonary function, underscoring the importance of monitoring pulmonary function in these children for clinical assessment and treatment prognosis.
Wirksamkeit eines Achtsamkeitstrainings bei Menschen mit intellektueller Beeinträchtigung: Ergebnisse einer kontrollierten Studie
Authors: Karing Constance , Wolferstetter Vera , Edinger Rebeka 
Published: May 2024

Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund
Menschen mit intellektueller Beeinträchtigung sind vulnerabler für psychische Erkrankungen als die Allgemeinbevölkerung. Bisher gibt es nur wenig Forschung, inwieweit achtsamkeitsbasierte Interventionen bei Menschen mit intellektueller Beeinträchtigung zur Gesundheitsförderung beitragen können. Ziel der Studie ist die Entwicklung und Evaluation einer Achtsamkeitsintervention für Personen mit intellektueller Beeinträchtigung.

Methodik
Es wurde eine achtsamkeitsbasierte Gruppenintervention durchgeführt und anhand eines Kontrollgruppendesigns mit Prä- und Postinterviews evaluiert. Die aktive Kontrollgruppe umfasste eine Musikintervention. Die Interventionen umfassten jeweils 8 Sitzungen. Es nahmen insgesamt 21 Personen mit leichter und mittelgradiger intellektueller Beeinträchtigung teil. Im Rahmen der Interviews wurden Angst- und Depressionssymptome, Aggressivität, Besorgtheit und Anspannung erhoben. Zum Beginn und Ende der jeweiligen Sitzung wurde das Wohlbefinden der Teilnehmenden erfasst.

Ergebnisse
Die Achtsamkeitsintervention im Gruppensetting führte über die Zeit zu einer signifikanten Reduzierung von Angst- und Depressionssymptomen und Aggressivität, während in der aktiven Kontrollgruppe die Aggressivität und Anspannung abnahm. Darüber hinaus zeigte sich deskriptiv für die Interventionsgruppe ein gleichbleibendes Wohlbefinden während der Sitzungen. Dagegen ergab sich für die aktive Kontrollgruppe im Mittel eine positive Veränderung des Wohlbefindens.

Schlussfolgerung
Achtsamkeitsbasierte Interventionen sollten im Rahmen einer multimodalen Behandlung bei psychischen Erkrankungen bei Personen mit intellektueller Beeinträchtigung einbezogen werden. Eine aktivere Gestaltung der Sitzungen und die Verwendung von Musik bei Achtsamkeitsinterventionen erscheinen lohnenswert.
Systemic barriers preventing farmer engagement in the agricultural climate transition: a qualitative study
Authors: Whitton John , Carmichael Andrew 
Published: May 2024

AbstractFarmers and the agricultural sector are facing an uncertain future, due to rapidly changing agricultural policy and a nexus of commercial, environmental and biodiversity challenges brought on by anthropogenic climate change. Balancing the interests of the farming community and natural environment is generating organisational and personal conflict, rather than effective agricultural adaption and a focus on the net zero transition. In this paper, we consider how farmers and the wider farming community can participate in engagement and decision-making for the transition, on their own terms, whilst ensuring social justice for fair and equitable decision-making. We discuss findings from our research project, that used questionnaires and follow up semi-structured interviews with farmers and farming groups to reveal systemic issues that prevent farmers engaging with the climate transition to net zero during their everyday practice. We highlight the structural relationships that form these barriers and frustrate farmers when designing and implementing farm interventions to agricultural systems during times of transition. Farmers have highlighted barriers to be associated with policy, (uncertain government strategy, landowner bias in government policy and tenancy restrictions, government bureaucracy—particularly environment schemes), commercial (market forces—downward pressure from supermarkets on price points, availability of labour due to seasonal migration restrictions, increasing cost of labour) and interpersonal (succession—uncertain future of the family farm due to limited income). This frustrates the ability of farmers to address climate change through farming practices and undermines the implementation of innovative engagement practices, such as co-produced interventions, in policy and decision-making settings.
Synthesizing three decades of digital servitization: a systematic literature review and conceptual framework proposal
Authors: Minaya Pedro E. , Avella Lucía , Trespalacios Juan A. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThis study, through a systematic literature review spanning 1990 to 2023, interrogates how servitization, and nowadays digital servitization, enhances manufacturing competitiveness. It introduces the DASOBI (Drivers, Actors, Strategies, Obstacles, Benefits, and Impact) framework for navigating the digital servitization transition, emphasizing strategic adaptability and technological alignment. Analysis of 157 articles reveals a significant increase in research, highlighting digital servitization’s role in competitive enhancement and customer engagement. The DASOBI framework offers manufacturers a novel approach for managing this transition, marking a unique contribution by distilling extensive literature into actionable insights for both theory and practice in the evolving field of digital servitization.
Structural network disruption of corticothalamic pathways in cerebral small vessel disease
Authors: Jia Xuejia , Li Yingying , Jia Xiuqin , Yang Qi 
Published: May 2024

AbstractGeneralized fractional anisotropy (GFA) can eliminate the crossing fiber effect, which may be more reflective of brain tissue changes in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). This study aimed to explore the alterations of structural networks based on GFA and its relationship with cognitive performance in CSVD patients. We recruited 50 CSVD patients which were divided into two groups: cognitive impairment (CSVD-CI) and normal cognition (CSVD-NC), and 22 healthy controls (HCs). All participants underwent the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and MRI examinations. The structural topological properties were compared among the three groups. The correlation between these structural alterations and MoCA was analyzed. Compared with HCs, significantly decreased nodal efficiency and connectivity were detected in the corticothalamic pathways in both patient groups, of which some were significantly decreased in CSVD-CIs compared with CSVD-NCs. Moreover, both patient groups exhibited global network disruption including decreased global efficiency and increased characteristic path length compared with HCs. Furthermore, the nodal efficiency in the right pallidum positively correlated with MoCA in CSVD-NCs controlling for nuisance variables (r = 0.471, p = 0.031). The alterations in corticothalamic pathways indicated that the brain structural network underwent extensive disruption, providing evidence for the consideration of CSVD as a global brain disease.
Disagreement amongst counterfactual explanations: how transparency can be misleading
Authors: Brughmans Dieter , Melis Lissa , Martens David 
Published: May 2024

AbstractCounterfactual explanations are increasingly used as an Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) technique to provide stakeholders of complex machine learning algorithms with explanations for data-driven decisions. The popularity of counterfactual explanations resulted in a boom in the algorithms generating them. However, not every algorithm creates uniform explanations for the same instance. Even though in some contexts multiple possible explanations are beneficial, there are circumstances where diversity amongst counterfactual explanations results in a potential disagreement problem among stakeholders. Ethical issues arise when for example, malicious agents use this diversity to fairwash an unfair machine learning model by hiding sensitive features. As legislators worldwide tend to start including the right to explanations for data-driven, high-stakes decisions in their policies, these ethical issues should be understood and addressed. Our literature review on the disagreement problem in XAI reveals that this problem has never been empirically assessed for counterfactual explanations. Therefore, in this work, we conduct a large-scale empirical analysis, on 40 data sets, using 12 explanation-generating methods, for two black-box models, yielding over 192,000 explanations. Our study finds alarmingly high disagreement levels between the methods tested. A malicious user is able to both exclude and include desired features when multiple counterfactual explanations are available. This disagreement seems to be driven mainly by the data set characteristics and the type of counterfactual algorithm. XAI centers on the transparency of algorithmic decision-making, but our analysis advocates for transparency about this self-proclaimed transparency.
Australia II: A Case Study in Engineering Ethics
Authors: van Oossanen Peter , Peterson Martin 
Published: May 2024

AbstractAustralia II became the first foreign yacht to win the America's Cup in 1983. The boat had a revolutionary wing keel and a better underwater hull form. In official documents, Ben Lexcen is credited with the design. He is also listed as the sole inventor of the wing keel in a patent application submitted on February 5, 1982. However, as reported in New York Times, Sydney Morning Herald, and Professional Boatbuilder, the wing keel was in fact designed by engineer Peter van Oossanen at the Netherlands Ship Model Basin in Wageningen, assisted by Dr. Joop Slooff at the National Aerospace Laboratory in Amsterdam. Based on telexes, letters, drawings, and other documents preserved in his personal archive, this paper presents van Oossanen’s account of how the revolutionary wing keel was designed. This is followed by an ethical analysis by Martin Peterson, in which he applies the American NSPE and Dutch KIVI codes of ethics to the information provided by van Oossanen. The NSPE and KIVI codes give conflicting advice about the case, and it is not obvious which document is most relevant. This impasse is resolved by applying a method of applied ethics in which similarity-based reasoning is extended to cases that are not fully similar. The key idea, presented in Peterson’s book The Ethics of Technology (Peterson, The ethics of technology: A geometric analysis of five moral principles, Oxford University Press, 2017), is to use moral paradigm cases as reference points for constructing a “moral map”.
The Ethics of Electronic Tracking Devices in Dementia Care: An Interview Study with Developers
Authors: Howes Jared , Denier Yvonne , Vandemeulebroucke Tijs , Gastmans Chris 
Published: May 2024

AbstractWandering is a symptom of dementia that can have devastating consequences on the lives of persons living with dementia and their families and caregivers. Increasingly, caregivers are turning towards electronic tracking devices to help manage wandering. Ethical questions have been raised regarding these location-based technologies and although qualitative research has been conducted to gain better insight into various stakeholders' views on the topic, developers of these technologies have been largely excluded. No qualitative research has focused on developers’ perceptions of ethics related to electronic tracking devices. To address this, we performed a qualitative semi-structured interview study based on grounded theory. We interviewed 15 developers of electronic tracking devices to better understand how they perceive ethical issues surrounding the design, development, and use of these devices within dementia care. Our results reveal that developers are strongly motivated by moral considerations and believe that including stakeholders throughout the development process is critical for success. Developers felt a strong sense of moral obligation towards topics within their control and a weaker sense of moral obligation towards topics outside their control. This leads to a perceived moral boundary between development and use, where some moral responsibility is shifted to end-users.
Adolescent Weapon Carrying Inside and Outside of School: The Impact of Experiences and Perceptions of Violence
Authors: McCuddy Timothy , Wyatt Austin , Watts Stephen 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThis study examined factors that distinguish adolescent weapon carrying in school compared to only in the community. We look at how experiences (offending, victimization, and gang-involvement) and perceptions (school, neighborhood, individual) toward violence are associated with self-reported weapon carrying in these two locations. Data came from two waves of the University of Missouri – St. Louis Comprehensive School Safety Initiative, a longitudinal study on the causes and consequences of school violence. Multinomial logistic regression was used to predict weapon carrying among three mutually exclusive categories: those who do not carry, those who carry only in the community, and those who carry both in school and in the community. We find that victim/offenders are more likely to carry weapons regardless of context, but school weapon carrying is positively associated with fatalism and gang-involvement. One school factor, school commitment, impacted carrying both inside and outside of school. Our results identify unique factors that can reduce adolescent weapon carrying in general and specifically in school.
Assessing the impact of heat mitigation measures on thermal performance and energy demand at the community level: A pathway toward designing net-zero energy communities
Authors: Ullah Khan Rahmat , Prodanovic Veljko , Pignatta Gloria , Deletic Ana , Santamouris Mattheos 
Published: May 2024

AbstractIn the context of escalating global energy demands, urban areas, specifically the building sector, contribute to the largest energy consumption, with urban overheating exacerbating this issue. Utilizing urban modelling for heat-mitigation and reduction of energy demand is crucial steps towards a sustainable built-environment, complementing onsite energy generation in the design and development of Net-zero Energy (NZE) Settlement, especially in the context of Australian weather conditions. Addressing a significant gap in existing literature, this study offers empirical analysis on the climate and energy efficacy of integrated heat mitigation strategies applied in 14 neighbourhood typologies located in Sydney, Australia. Examining the application of cool materials on roads, pavements, and rooftops, alongside urban vegetation enhancement, the analysis demonstrates scenario effectiveness on heat mitigation that leads to reduce ambient temperature and energy demands along with CO2 emissions within the neighbourhoods. Considering building arrangement, built-area ratio, building height, and locations, ENVI-met and CitySim are utilized to assess the heat-mitigation and the energy demand of neighbourhoods, respectively. Results indicate that mitigation measures can lead up to a 2.71 °C reduction in ambient temperature and over 25% reduction in Cooling Degree Hours, with a 34.34% reduction in cooling energy demand and overall energy savings of up to 12.49%. In addition, the annual energy-saving yields a CO2 reduction of approximately 141.12 tonnes, where additional vegetation further amplifies these reductions by enhancing CO2 absorption. This study showcases the pathway towards achieving NZE goals in climates similar to that of Australia, highlighting significant benefits in heat-mitigation, environmental impact, and energy-savings.
A Beacon of Health: Ultra-Orthodox Women Graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education
Authors: Gilad Lilach , Moran Daniel S. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThis study examines the effect of a physical education bachelor’s degree program on the healthy lifestyle practices of ultra-Orthodox women. The study included 59 physical education teacher education (PETE) graduates and a group of 78 ultra-Orthodox women who specialized in “healthy activity” at a seminar. Variance analyses were used to analyze the data. The results indicate a significant improvement in the physical activity and nutrition habits of the PETE graduate women compared with the seminar trainee group. This comparative study provides evidence of the positive impact of higher education on the health behaviors of ultra-Orthodox women.