An Audio-Based Vehicle Classifier Using Convolutional Neural Network

Audio-based event and scene classification are getting more attention in recent years. Many examples of environmental noise detection, vehicle classification, and soundscape analysis are developed using state of art deep learning techniques. The major noise source in urban and rural areas is road traffic noise. Environmental noise pa-rameters for urban and rural small roads have not been investigated due to some practical reasons. The purpose of this study is to develop an audio-based traffic classifier for rural and urban small roads which have limited or no traffic flow data to supply values for noise mapping and other noise metrics. An audio-based vehicle classifier a convolutional neural network-based algorithm was pro-posed using Mel spectrogram of audio signals as an input feature. Different variations of the network were generated by changing the parameters of the convolu-tional layers and the length of the network. Filter size, number of filters were tested with a dataset prepared with various real-life traffic records and audio extracts from traffic videos. The precision of the networks was evaluated with the common performance metrics. Further assessments were conducted with longer audio files and predictions of the system compared with actual traffic flow. The results showed that convolutional neural networks can be used to classify road traffic noise sources and perform outstandingly for single or double-lane roads

Effect of different brine concentrations and ripening period on some quality properties of Turkish white pickled cheese

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different brine concentrations on some properties of Turkish white cheese. Cheeses made from pasteurized milk (65°C for 30 min) were ripened in 11, 14 and 17 g 100 ml-1 NaCl for 90 days at 7±1°C. Some physicochemical and biochemical analyses were carried out during storage time. The effects of brine concentrations on total solids, protein, ash, salt, pH, and WSN values were found to be significant (P<0.05). On the contrary, fat, lipolysis, TCA-SN and PTA-SN values of the cheese samples were not significantly affected by the brine concentrations used. On the other hand, the values of protein, ash, salt, pH, lipolysis, WSN, TCA-SN and PTA-SN of the experimental cheeses were significantly (P<0.05, P<0.01) affected by storage time, while the effect of storage period on total solids and fat contents was found to be insignificant (P>0.05).Key words: Turkish white cheese, brine salting, ripening, lipolysis, proteolysis

Tissue engineering approaches for the repair and regeneration of the anterior cruciate ligament: towards 3D bioprinted ACL-on-chip.

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the most frequently injured ligament in the knee. The current method to treat the injured ligament is reconstruction using autografts and allografts. Reconstruction requires the regeneration of ligament, bone and their interface to ensure proper recovery. Recently, researchers have focused on using tissue-engineered scaffolds made of synthetic materials and biomaterials -such as collagen, decellularised tissues, silk and synthetic polymers produced following different manufacturing methods - for ACL reconstruction,. Different materials can be easily processed using various fabrication methods for mimicking the mechanical properties of the ACL. The advances in technologies play an important role in the production of constructions that can mimic native ACL.. The present review addresses integrative scaffold design, different challenges in the potential materials and manufacturing methods as well as future strategies for ACL repair. Furthermore, the review provides a road map to 3D printing combined with organ-on-chip technology to demonstrate the potential for cost-effective and user-friendly fabrication methods for ACL engineering. Finally, it underlines the potential of 3D bioprinting and organ-on-chip technologies for micro-engineering of ligaments and their associated environment

Performance Studies of Prototype II for the CASTOR forward Calorimeter at the CMS Experiment

We present results of the performance of the second prototype of the CASTOR quartz-tungsten sampling calorimeter, to be installed in the very forward region of the CMS experiment at the LHC. The energy linearity and resolution, as well as the spatial resolution of the prototype to electromagnetic and hadronic showers are studied with E=20-200 GeV electrons, E=20-350 GeV pions, and E=50,150 GeV muons from beam tests carried out at CERN/SPS in 2004. The responses of the calorimeter using two different types of photodetectors (avalanche photodiodes APDs, and photomultiplier tubes PMTs) are compared.Comment: 16 pages, 22 figs., submitted to EPJ-

Unilateral hemothorax in a 46 year old South Indian male due to a giant arteriovenous hemodialysis fistula: a case report

In a patient undergoing regular hemodialysis through an arteriovenous fistula access, pleural effusion is a known long term complication. However, a unilateral hemothorax is relatively uncommon. Here we report a 46 year old male, end-stage renal disease patient, on maintenance hemodialysis, who presented with a giant brachiocephalic AV fistula in his left arm and progressive breathlessness. Radiological imaging revealed a left sided pleural effusion. Ultrasound guided aspiration revealed a hemorrhagic pleural fluid. A Doppler study of the fistula revealed a high velocity blood flow through the fistula, thereby establishing the cause of the unilateral hemothorax. Ligation of the fistula resulted in complete resolution of the hemothorax. The other possible causes for hemothorax in a dialysis patient are also discussed in this case report

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Combined search for the quarks of a sequential fourth generation

Results are presented from a search for a fourth generation of quarks produced singly or in pairs in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011. A novel strategy has been developed for a combined search for quarks of the up and down type in decay channels with at least one isolated muon or electron. Limits on the mass of the fourth-generation quarks and the relevant Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements are derived in the context of a simple extension of the standard model with a sequential fourth generation of fermions. The existence of mass-degenerate fourth-generation quarks with masses below 685 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for minimal off-diagonal mixing between the third- and the fourth-generation quarks. With a mass difference of 25 GeV between the quark masses, the obtained limit on the masses of the fourth-generation quarks shifts by about +/- 20 GeV. These results significantly reduce the allowed parameter space for a fourth generation of fermions.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Search for New Physics with Jets and Missing Transverse Momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for new physics is presented based on an event signature of at least three jets accompanied by large missing transverse momentum, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns collected in proton--proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess of events is observed above the expected standard model backgrounds, which are all estimated from the data. Exclusion limits are presented for the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Cross section limits are also presented using simplified models with new particles decaying to an undetected particle and one or two jets

Measurement of the t t-bar production cross section in the dilepton channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The t t-bar production cross section (sigma[t t-bar]) is measured in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV in data collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 inverse femtobarns. The measurement is performed in events with two leptons (electrons or muons) in the final state, at least two jets identified as jets originating from b quarks, and the presence of an imbalance in transverse momentum. The measured value of sigma[t t-bar] for a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV is 161.9 +/- 2.5 (stat.) +5.1/-5.0 (syst.) +/- 3.6(lumi.) pb, consistent with the prediction of the standard model.Comment: Replaced with published version. Included journal reference and DO