Observation of the Cabibbo-suppressed charmed baryon decay Λ_c^+→pφ

We report the observation of the Cabibbo-suppressed decays Λ_c^+→pK^-K^+ and Λ_c^+→pφ using data collected with the CLEO II detector at CESR. The latter mode, observed for the first time with significant statistics, is of interest as a test of color suppression in charm decays. We have determined the branching ratios for these modes relative to Λ_c^+→pK^-π^+ and compared our results with theory

The ACII 2022 Affective Vocal Bursts Workshop & Competition: understanding a critically understudied modality of emotional expression

The ACII Affective Vocal Bursts Workshop & Competition is focused on understanding multiple affective dimensions of vocal bursts: laughs, gasps, cries, screams, and many other non-linguistic vocalizations central to the expression of emotion and to human communication more generally. This year's competition comprises four tracks using a large-scale and in-the-wild dataset of 59,299 vocalizations from 1,702 speakers. The first, the A-VB-High task, requires competition participants to perform a multi-label regression on a novel model for emotion, utilizing ten classes of richly annotated emotional expression intensities, including; Awe, Fear, and Surprise. The second, the A-VB-Two task, utilizes the more conventional 2-dimensional model for emotion, arousal, and valence. The third, the A-VB-Culture task, requires participants to explore the cultural aspects of the dataset, training native-country dependent models. Finally, for the fourth task, A-VB-Type, participants should recognize the type of vocal burst (e.g., laughter, cry, grunt) as an 8-class classification. This paper describes the four tracks and baseline systems, which use state-of-the-art machine learning methods. The baseline performance for each track is obtained by utilizing an end-to-end deep learning model and is as follows: for A-VB-High, a mean (over the 10-dimensions) Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC) of 0.5687 CCC is obtained; for A-VB-Two, a mean (over the 2-dimensions) CCC of 0.5084 is obtained; for A-VB-Culture, a mean CCC from the four cultures of 0.4401 is obtained; and for A-VB-Type, the baseline Unweighted Average Recall (UAR) from the 8-classes is 0.4172 UAR

A common co-ordinate system for mid-sagittal articulatory measurement

A standard practice in EMA articulatory measurement is to set the origin of the measurement space near the boundary of the upper incisors and gum, on a standard reference coil. A conventional horizontal dimension is defined as being parallel to the speaker's unique bite (occlusal) plane. We propose that this convention be extended to other instrumentation, with a focus on how it can be achieved for ultrasound tongue imaging (UTI) in particular, using a disposable and hygienic vacuum-formed bite plate of known size. A bite plane trace, like a palate trace, provides a consistent reference to allow images to be rotated and translated in case the probe is in a new location relative to a speaker's cranial space. The bite plane also allows speakers with differently shaped palates to be overlaid, and for ultrasound data to share a coordinate space with EMA. We illustrate the proposal using a sample of six speakers. The average bite plane slope could be used to retrospectively rotate ultrasound data that lacks bite-plane measurementcaslpub3597pu

The MuSe 2022 Multimodal Sentiment Analysis Challenge: Humor, Emotional Reactions, and Stress

The Multimodal Sentiment Analysis Challenge (MuSe) 2022 is dedicated to multimodal sentiment and emotion recognition. For this year's challenge, we feature three datasets: (i) the Passau Spontaneous Football Coach Humor (Passau-SFCH) dataset that contains audio-visual recordings of German football coaches, labelled for the presence of humour; (ii) the Hume-Reaction dataset in which reactions of individuals to emotional stimuli have been annotated with respect to seven emotional expression intensities, and (iii) the Ulm-Trier Social Stress Test (Ulm-TSST) dataset comprising of audio-visual data labelled with continuous emotion values (arousal and valence) of people in stressful dispositions. Using the introduced datasets, MuSe 2022 2022 addresses three contemporary affective computing problems: in the Humor Detection Sub-Challenge (MuSe-Humor), spontaneous humour has to be recognised; in the Emotional Reactions Sub-Challenge (MuSe-Reaction), seven fine-grained `in-the-wild' emotions have to be predicted; and in the Emotional Stress Sub-Challenge (MuSe-Stress), a continuous prediction of stressed emotion values is featured. The challenge is designed to attract different research communities, encouraging a fusion of their disciplines. Mainly, MuSe 2022 targets the communities of audio-visual emotion recognition, health informatics, and symbolic sentiment analysis. This baseline paper describes the datasets as well as the feature sets extracted from them. A recurrent neural network with LSTM cells is used to set competitive baseline results on the test partitions for each sub-challenge. We report an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of .8480 for MuSe-Humor; .2801 mean (from 7-classes) Pearson's Correlations Coefficient for MuSe-Reaction, as well as .4931 Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC) and .4761 for valence and arousal in MuSe-Stress, respectively.Comment: Preliminary baseline paper for the 3rd Multimodal Sentiment Analysis Challenge (MuSe) 2022, a full-day workshop at ACM Multimedia 202

The ACM Multimedia 2023 Computational Paralinguistics Challenge: emotion share & requests

The ACM Multimedia 2023 Computational Paralinguistics Chal- lenge addresses two different problems for the first time in a re- search competition under well-defined conditions: In the Emotion Share Sub-Challenge, a regression on speech has to be made; and in the Requests Sub-Challenges, requests and complaints need to be de- tected. We describe the Sub-Challenges, baseline feature extraction, and classifiers based on the ‘usual’ ComParE features, the auDeep toolkit, and deep feature extraction from pre-trained CNNs using the DeepSpectrum toolkit; in addition, wav2vec2 models are used

Measurements of B→D_s^+X decays

This paper describes new measurements from CLEO of the inclusive B→D_s^+X branching fraction as well as the B^+→D_s^((*)+)D^((*)0) and B^0→D_s^((*)+)D^((*)-) branching fractions. The inclusive branching fraction is B(B→D_s^+X)=(12.11±0.39±0.88±1.38)% where the first error is statistical, the second is the systematic error, and the third is the error due to the uncertainty in the D_s^+→φπ^+ branching fraction. The branching fractions for the B→D_s^((*)+)D^(*) modes are found to be between 0.9% and 2.4% and are significantly more precise than previous measurements. The sum of the B→D_s^((*)+)D^(*) branching fractions is consistent with the results of fits to the inclusive D_s^+ momentum spectrum. Factorization is used to arrive at a value for f_D_s, the D_s^+ decay constant

Functioning of Coastal River-Dominated Ecosystems and Implications for Oil Spill Response: From Observations to Mechanisms and Models

Coastal river-dominated oceans are physically complex, biologically productive, and intimately connected to human socioeconomic activity. The Deepwater Horizon blowout and subsequent advection of oil into coastal waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) highlighted the complex linkages among oceanographic processes within this river-dominated system and knowledge gaps about it that resulted in imprecise information on both oil transport and ecosystem consequences. The interdisciplinary research program implemented through the CONsortium for oil exposure pathways in COastal River-Dominated Ecosystems (CONCORDE) is designed to identify and quantitatively assess key physical, biological, and geochemical processes acting in the nGOM, in order to provide the foundation for implementation of a synthesis model (coupled circulation and biogeochemistry) of the nGOM shelf system that can ultimately aid in prediction of oil spill transport and impacts. CONCORDE field and modeling efforts in 2015–2016 focused on defining the influence of freshwater input from river plumes in the nGOM. In situ observations, combined with field-deployed and simulated drifters, show considerable variability in the spatial extent of freshwater influence that is related to wind direction and strength. Increased primary production and particle abundance (a proxy for secondary production) was observed during the spring when nGOM shelf waters were becoming stratified. Zooplankton and marine snow displayed intense vertical and horizontal patchiness during all seasons, often aggregating near the halocline. Simulations of a neutrally buoyant tracer released offshore of the Mississippi Bight showed surface advection of low tracer concentrations onto the inner shelf under high river discharge, high stratification, and variable wind conditions compared to almost no advection onto the inner shelf under low discharge, negligible stratification, and generally northeasterly winds. The interconnectedness of environmental variables and biological activity indicate that multiple factors can affect the transport of oil and the resulting ecological impacts. The process-oriented understanding provided by CONCORDE is necessary to predict ecosystem-level impacts of oil spills, and these results are applicable to other river-dominated coastal systems worldwide that often support oil extraction activities

Comparative Lipidomics of Azole Sensitive and Resistant Clinical Isolates of Candida albicans Reveals Unexpected Diversity in Molecular Lipid Imprints

Although transcriptome and proteome approaches have been applied to determine the regulatory circuitry behind multidrug resistance (MDR) in Candida, its lipidome remains poorly characterized. Lipids do acclimatize to the development of MDR in Candida, but exactly how the acclimatization is achieved is poorly understood. In the present study, we have used a high-throughput mass spectrometry-based shotgun approach and analyzed the lipidome of genetically matched clinical azole-sensitive (AS) and -resistant (AR) isolates of C. albicans. By comparing the lipid profiling of matched isolates, we have identified major classes of lipids and determined more than 200 individual molecular lipid species among these major classes. The lipidome analysis has been statistically validated by principal component analysis. Although each AR isolate was similar with regard to displaying a high MIC to drugs, they had a distinct lipid imprint. There were some significant commonalities in the lipid profiles of these pairs, including molecular lipid species ranging from monounsaturated to polyunsaturated fatty acid-containing phosphoglycerides. Consistent fluctuation in phosphatidyl serine, mannosylinositolphosphorylceramides, and sterol esters levels indicated their compensatory role in maintaining lipid homeostasis among most AR isolates. Notably, overexpression of either CaCdr1p or CaMdr1p efflux pump proteins led to a different lipidomic response among AR isolates. This study clearly establishes the versatility of lipid metabolism in handling azole stress among various matched AR isolates. This comprehensive lipidomic approach will serve as a resource for assessing strategies aimed at disrupting the functions of Candida lipids, particularly the functional interactions between lipids and MDR determinants

Connectivity within and among a Network of Temperate Marine Reserves

Networks of marine reserves are increasingly being promoted as a means of conserving marine biodiversity. One consideration in designing systems of marine reserves is the maintenance of connectivity to ensure the long-term persistence and resilience of populations. Knowledge of connectivity, however, is frequently lacking during marine reserve design and establishment. We characterise patterns of genetic connectivity of 3 key species of habitat-forming macroalgae across an established network of temperate marine reserves on the east coast of Australia and the implications for adaptive management and marine reserve design. Connectivity varied greatly among species. Connectivity was high for the subtidal macroalgae Ecklonia radiata and Phyllospora comosa and neither species showed any clear patterns of genetic structuring with geographic distance within or among marine parks. In contrast, connectivity was low for the intertidal, Hormosira banksii, and there was a strong pattern of isolation by distance. Coastal topography and latitude influenced small scale patterns of genetic structure. These results suggest that some species are well served by the current system of marine reserves in place along this temperate coast but it may be warranted to revisit protection of intertidal habitats to ensure the long-term persistence of important habitat-forming macroalgae. Adaptively managing marine reserve design to maintain connectivity may ensure the long-term persistence and resilience of marine habitats and the biodiversity they support