Contrastive Learning-Based Audio to Lyrics Alignment for Multiple Languages

Lyrics alignment gained considerable attention in recent years. State-of-the-art systems either re-use established speech recognition toolkits, or design end-to-end solutions involving a Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC) loss. However, both approaches suffer from specific weaknesses: toolkits are known for their complexity, and CTC systems use a loss designed for transcription which can limit alignment accuracy. In this paper, we use instead a contrastive learning procedure that derives cross-modal embeddings linking the audio and text domains. This way, we obtain a novel system that is simple to train end-to-end, can make use of weakly annotated training data, jointly learns a powerful text model, and is tailored to alignment. The system is not only the first to yield an average absolute error below 0.2 seconds on the standard Jamendo dataset but it is also robust to other languages, even when trained on English data only. Finally, we release word-level alignments for the JamendoLyrics Multi-Lang dataset.Comment: 5 pages, accepted at the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP) 202

Mise en oeuvre des propulsifs multicouches en filières concentriques

Afin d’améliorer les performances balistiques des systèmes d’armes modernes, l’objectif principal de ce mémoire est d’établir les critères qui rendent possible la mise en forme de propulsifs multicouches en cylindres concentriques. Premièrement, l’approche suggérée détermine la géométrie optimale des bâtonnets de propulsif multicouches afin d’optimiser l’accélération du projectile pour la pression maximale interne admissible dans le système d’arme. Cette étape est réalisée par simulation balistique avec le logiciel PlayballMC et se base sur des données de combustion obtenues expérimentalement en vase clos. Deuxièmement, l’effort porte sur l’optimisation de l’écoulement des filières d’extrusion par la méthode des éléments finis. Les données d’entrées de ces simulations sont les géométries et formulations obtenues à l’aide de simulations de balistique interne et les mesures rhéologiques effectuées par rhéomètre rotationnel, capillaire et fente. Les résultats de ces simulations sont ensuite validés expérimentalement. Cette étude souligne finalement l’importance de l’influence thermique et de la caractérisation du comportement rhéofluidifiant des pâtes propulsives sur l’écoulement lors de la conception des filières. ----------- The primary purpose of this effort is to establish the criteria that enable the extrusion of multilayered propellants in concentric cylinders to improve the ballistic performances of modern weapon systems. First, the suggested approach defines the optimal geometry of the multilayer propellant sticks to maximize the projectile’s acceleration for the maximal weapon system internal pressure capacity. This step is carried by internal ballistic simulations via the Playball™ code and is based on closed vessel combustion data. Second, the effort focuses on optimizing the flow of extrusion dies by the finite elements method. The input data for these simulations are geometries and formulations obtained by internal ballistic simulations and rheological measurements of the energetic materials by torque rheometer as well as capillary and slit dies. The results obtained by finite elements have been later validated experimentally

Coastal Shelf Model of Northern European waters to inform tidal power industry decisions

Water Qualit

COVID-19 exposes weaknesses in public health in the Peruvian Amazon and highlights opportunities for a One Health approach

The Amazon is home to important wildlife and a biodiversity hotspot of global importance. The ancestral knowledge kept by Indigenous communities about its fauna and flora contributes further to its irreplaceable value. The Peruvian Amazon was heavily struck by the COVID-19 epidemic with a cumulative incidence of 725, a mortality rate of 34 per 100,000 inhabitants, and a case fatality rate of 4.6% by the end of July 2020. In this work, we review scientific literature and media to trace the events that happened at the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic in the Peruvian Amazon. Results are synthesized in three observations: (1) the evolution of the COVID-19 epidemic within the Peruvian Amazon and the response of the Peruvian health care system, (2) Confusing information about Ivermectin use for COVID-19 treatment and prevalent self-medication (3) The response of the traditional Indigenous health care system to the COVID-19 epidemic. These three observations are interdependent. There is an unexploited potential for integrative approaches linking traditional medical practices (TMP) and biomedical approaches and they may benefit from the interactions that occur between them. Synergies can also be explored between the human and animal health care sector, especially in terms of the use and stewardship of medicines. We conclude that there is a benefit of the One Health approach in the region, which can go through the common ambition to improve the integrated health of people, animals and ecosystems, facilitate the enhancement of equity and inclusion while improving access to health services and conserving biodiversity. One Health Impact Statement The Amazon region is home to wildlife flora and fauna and indigenous Amazon communities. The case presented in this work shows that an existing grassroots initiative has been reducing case fatality rates tenfold during the COVID-19 epidemic, while acting in respect towards nature and the environment, and using its resources. This is in stark contrast to the uncontrolled, ineffective self-medication with ivermectin in that same period, which may endanger the biodiversity hotspot through metabolic residues. While the current example seems to illustrate community resilience due to government negligence, it also shows the vastly unexplored potential of integrating biomedical and traditional indigenous knowledge in a solidaric and co-creative framework such as One Health

Van Roosbroeck's equations with topological terms: the case of Weyl semimetals

Van Roosbroeck's equations constitute a versatile tool to determine the dynamics of electrons under time- and space-dependent perturbations. Extensively utilized in ordinary semiconductors, their potential to model devices made from topological materials remains untapped. Here, we adapt van Roosbroeck's equations to theoretically study the bulk response of a Weyl semimetal to an ultrafast and spatially localized light pulse in the presence of a quantizing magnetic field. We predict a transient oscillatory photovoltage that originates from the chiral anomaly. The oscillations take place at the plasma frequency (THz range) and are damped by intervalley scattering and dielectric relaxation. Our results illustrate the ability of van Roosbroeck's equations to unveil the interplay between electronic band topology and fast carrier dynamics in microelectronic devices.Comment: 5 pages + appendix. Version accepted for publicatio

Surface induced selective delamination of amphiphilic ABA block copolymer thin films

This is the result of an ongoing collaboration with Dr. N. Sommerdijk’s Biomaterials group at the University of Eindhoven (the Netherlands) and illustrates the close collaboration that exists in pursuing the design and application of novel polymeric materials between the two groups. This details work on a physical phenomenon (selective delamination) and key materials (amphiphilic block copolymers) that have subsequently been applied in the design of novel biomaterials. These results have appeared in a larger body of work including Advanced Materials, Angewandtie Chemie International Edition and the Journal of Materials Chemistry