TranssionADD: A multi-frame reinforcement based sequence tagging model for audio deepfake detection

Thanks to recent advancements in end-to-end speech modeling technology, it has become increasingly feasible to imitate and clone a user`s voice. This leads to a significant challenge in differentiating between authentic and fabricated audio segments. To address the issue of user voice abuse and misuse, the second Audio Deepfake Detection Challenge (ADD 2023) aims to detect and analyze deepfake speech utterances. Specifically, Track 2, named the Manipulation Region Location (RL), aims to pinpoint the location of manipulated regions in audio, which can be present in both real and generated audio segments. We propose our novel TranssionADD system as a solution to the challenging problem of model robustness and audio segment outliers in the trace competition. Our system provides three unique contributions: 1) we adapt sequence tagging task for audio deepfake detection; 2) we improve model generalization by various data augmentation techniques; 3) we incorporate multi-frame detection (MFD) module to overcome limited representation provided by a single frame and use isolated-frame penalty (IFP) loss to handle outliers in segments. Our best submission achieved 2nd place in Track 2, demonstrating the effectiveness and robustness of our proposed system

Serum Uric Acid and Long-term Prognosis in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

BackgroundIt is still controversial whether or not serum uric acid, a key risk for coronary heart disease, is significantly associated with prognosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) . And there are rare large-scale and multicenter studies on serum uric acid and long prognosis of AMI in China.ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between serum uric acid and long-term prognosis in AMI patients.MethodsOne thousand and ninety-eight AMI patients from 9 hospitals (Chengdu First People's Hospital, Chengdu Second People's Hospital, the Third People's Hospital of Chengdu, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Dujiangyan Medical Center, Pidu District People's Hospital, Chengdu, Shuangliu District First People's Hospital, Jintang First People's Hospital, the People's Hospital of Pengzhou) in Chengdu during September 2016 to July 2019 were consecutively reSScruited. Baseline data were collected via the electronic medical record system of each hospital by trained professionals, including: (1) demographic data: age, gender, prevalence of smoking; (2) clinical complications and related information: hypertension, diabetes, blood pressure, heart rate, Killip class, AMI type (NSTEMI or STEMI) , prevalence of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) ; (3) laboratory parameters: serum SScreatinine (Scr) , uric acid (UA) , triglyceride (TG) , total cholesterol (TC) , low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) , high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) , estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ; (4) post-discharge medication: aspirin, clopidogrel/tigrelol, statins, Beta-blockers, ACEI/ARB, diuretics. Baseline data were compared between patients with and without major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) during post-discharge follow-up. Then, prognosis was compared aSScross UA tertile subgroups〔A: UA<420 μmol/L; B: 420 ≤UA<480 μmol/L; C: UA≥480 μmol/L〕 stratified by the diagnostic SScriteria for hyperuricemia in Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Hyperuricemia and Gout in China (2019) .ResultsThe median follow-up time for all participants was 14.5 (9.2, 20.7) months. Of all cases, 173 were found with MACCE, and 366 with hyperuricemia. Compared with those without MACCE, patients with MACCE had greater average age, Scr and UA, and heart rate, and higher female ratio, higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, use of diuretics, and Killip class≥3, but lower prevalence of PCI treatment (P<0.05) . Subgroup A had much lower incidence of MACCE, all-cause death and cardiac death than subgroup B or C (P<0.01) . Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that the cumulative incidence of MACCE, all-cause death and cardiac death either in subgroup B or C was higher than that in subgroup A (P<0.01) . Cox regression analysis showed that Killip class ≥3〔HR=1.812, 95%CI (1.215, 2.700) 〕, older age〔HR=1.045, 95%CI (1.031, 1.059) 〕 and higher UA level〔 (≥420 μmol/L but<480 μmol/L: HR=1.614, 95%CI (1.062, 2.455) ; ≥480 μmol/L: HR=1.949, 95%CI (1.327, 2.862) 〕 were independent risk factors for long-term MACCE events in patients with AMI (P<0.05) . Serum UA had an AUC (95%CI) of 0.578 (0.548, 0.607) with 0.387 sensitivity, and 0.779 specificity in predicting long-term incidence of MACCE, an AUC (95%CI) of 0.645 (0.616, 0.674) with 0.598 sensitivity, and 0.670 specificity in predicting long-term incidence of all-cause death, and an AUC (95% CI) of 0.653 (0.624, 0.681) with 0.534 sensitivity, and 0.761 specificity in predicting long-term incidence of cardiac death.ConclusionElevated serum UA was associated with higher risk of long-term adverse events in AMI patients. Serum UA may be used as a predictor for long-term MACCE events in such patients

Antiquity and Function of CASTOR and POLLUX, the Twin Ion Channel-Encoding Genes Key to the Evolution of Root Symbioses in Plants1[W][OA]

Root symbioses with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobial bacteria share a common signaling pathway in legumes. Among the common symbiosis genes are CASTOR and POLLUX, the twin homologous genes in Lotus japonicus that encode putative ion channel proteins. Here, we show that the orthologs of CASTOR and POLLUX are ubiquitously present and highly conserved in both legumes and nonlegumes. Using rice (Oryza sativa) as a study system, we employ reverse genetic tools (knockout mutants and RNA interference) to demonstrate that Os-CASTOR and Os-POLLUX are indispensable for mycorrhizal symbiosis in rice. Furthermore, a cross-species complementation test indicates that Os-POLLUX can restore nodulation, but not rhizobial infection, to a Medicago truncatula dmi1 mutant

Fatigue Characteristics of 7050-T7451 Aluminum Alloy Friction Stir Welding Joints and the Stress Ratio Effect

The fatigue crack initiation and growth characteristics in 7050-T7451 aluminum alloy butt joints subjected to different stress ratios and owing to friction stir welding (FSW) were investigated using fatigue tests for stress ratios of 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5. The difference between the fatigue crack initiation in the base material (BM) and FSW joints, related to coarse secondary phases, was explored using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Accordingly, Al23CuFe4, Al7Cu2Fe, and Al2Mg3Zn3 were the preferred joint crack initiation locations, whereas Mg2Si was the major fracture initiation point of the parent material, and cracks tended to propagate along dense, coarse secondary phases, becoming more pronounced for larger cracks. In addition, as the stress ratio increased, non-Mg2Si phase fracture initiation points appeared in the BM. Meanwhile, the quantity of non-Mg2Si phases in the joints continued to increase, and the crack initiation sites became increasingly concentrated in the TMAZ-HAZ region

Characterization of non-volatile and volatile flavor profiles of Coregonus peled meat cooked by different methods

This study investigated the effects of different cooking methods on non-volatile flavor (free amino acids, 5′-nucleotides, and organic acids, etc.) of Coregonus peled meat. The volatile flavor characteristics were also analyzed by electric nose and gas chromatography-ion migration spectrometry (GC-IMS). The results indicated that the content of flavor substances in C. peled meat varied significantly. The electronic tongue results indicated that the richness and umami aftertaste of roasting were significantly greater. The content of sweet free amino acids, 5′-nucleotides, and organic acids was also higher in roasting group. Electronic nose principal component analysis can distinguish C. peled meat cooked (the first two components accounted for 98.50% and 0.97%, respectively). A total of 36 volatile flavor compounds were identified among different groups, including 16 aldehydes, 7 olefine aldehydes, 6 alcohols, 4 ketones, and 3 furans. In general, roasting was recommended and gave more flavor substances in C. peled meat