An Application of SVM to Lost Packets Reconstruction in Voice-Enabled Services

Voice over IP (VoIP) is becoming very popular due to the huge range of services that can be implemented by integrating different media (voice, audio, data, etc.). Besides, voice-enabled interfaces for those services are being very actively researched. Nevertheless the impoverishment of voice quality due to packet losses severely affects the speech recognizers supporting those interfaces ([8]). In this paper, we have compared the usual lost packets reconstruction method with an SVM-based one that outperforms previous results

Combining audio-visual features for viewers' perception classification of Youtube car commercials

Proccedings of: 2nd International Workshop on Speech, Language and Audio in Multimedia. Penang, Malaysia, 11-12 September 2014.In this paper, we present a computational model capable of predicting the viewer perception of Youtube car TV commercials by using a set of low-level audio and visual descriptors. Our research goal relies on the hypothesis that these descriptors could reflect to some extent the objective value of the videos and, in turn, the average viewer's perception. To that end, and as a novel approach to this problem, we automatically annotate our video corpus, grouped into 2 classes corresponding to differ-ent satisfaction levels, by means of a regular k-means algorithm applied to the video metadata related to users feedback. Evaluation results show that simple linear logistic regression models based on the 10 best visual descriptors and on the 10 best audio descriptors individually perform reasonably well, achieving a classification accuracy of roughly 70% and 75%, respectively. Combination of audio and visual descriptors yields better performance, roughly 86% for the top-20 selected from the entire descriptor set, but tipping the balance in favor of the audio ones (i.e. 17 vs 3). Audio content bigger influence in this domain is also evidenced by a side analysis of the video comments.Publicad

Optimal Design Model for a Residential PV Storage System an Application to the Spanish Case

Self-consumption of photovoltaic energy is being promoted as an effective way for energy consumption in residential households. The European Directive 944/2019 promotes the use of green energy and battery energy storage systems (BESS) for self-consumption and, in Spain, the 244/2019 Royal Decree of the Spanish electrical regulatory framework allows the self-consumption of energy with a photovoltaic (PV) facility for residential use, as well as the injection of the surplus energy into the grid for which compensation will be received. At the same time, new developments in PV and BESS technologies reduce the costs of facilities, a fact that can increase the profitability of self-consumption through PV energy. This study evaluates the profitability of a household PV facility with BESS using a model based on real market prices, hourly data from user smart meters, and their own location; especially, the model gives the best configuration of PV panels power and BESS capacity. The financial indicators taken as reference for the results and conclusions are the Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Investment Return (IR). Our method examines also the effect of the BESS and PV panel costs on the profitability of the facility. Unlike other studies, our model is based on actual (not simulated) demand and price data, and it can be easily extended to other locations and market prices

IN VIVO EFFECT OF RUTA CHALEPENSIS EXTRACT ON HEPATIC CYTOCHROME 3A1 IN RATS

Background: Since the time when drugs began to be used, it became evident that they could produce a therapeutic effect, but also a clinical condition of toxicity or no effect at all on humans, despite using the same doses in different patients. Such untoward effects were termed “drug idiosyncrasy” and also “idiosyncratic drug effects”, but the factors producing such diverse responses were never taken into account. Materials and Methods: Ruta chalepensis L. (fringed rue) is an herbaceous plant of the Rutaceae family used in traditional medicine due to its properties, such as its analgesic and antipyretic effects. This study used 25 male rats divided into five groups. Plant extract was administered to Groups 1 and 2 at doses of 100 and 30 mg/kg/day, respectively, for three days; Group 3 was administered 100 mg/kg/day of dexamethasone (DEX), as well as 100 mg/kg/day of Ruta chalepensis extract; Group 4 was administered 100 mg/kg/day of DEX and treated as positive control; Group 5 was treated as negative control and was administered a physiological solution. Twenty-four hours after the the last dose, the animals were sacrificed and their livers were extracted. Results: The aqueous extract of Ruta chalepensis, intraperitoneally administered, was able to induce cytochrome 3A1 in doses of 30 mg/kg/day, and a greater inducing effect occurs when the plant is co-administered in doses of 100 mg/kg/day with dexamethasone. Conclusion: This study suggests that aqueous extract of Ruta chalepensis can induce cytochrome 3a1. This study helps provide a better understanding of CYP3a regulation. Future in vitro work is needed to determine the compounds that produce the cytochrome modulation

Distribución del agua lluvia en tres bosques altoandinos de la cordillera central de antioquia, colombia.

Se estudió la distribución del agua lluvia durante tres años en un bosque climácico de roble (Quercus humboldtii) y dos plantaciones forestales, de pino (Pinus patula) y ciprés (Cupressus lusitanica) ubicados en los Andes colombianos. Los principales ingresos de agua al bosque ocurrieron por la lluvia, cuyo valor medio anual fue 1.700 mm año-1. La precipitación interna tuvo la mayor participación de los flujos hídricos del bosque, siendo máxima en el cipresal (1.486 mm a-1, 90 %) y mínima en el pinar (1.389 mm a-1, 81 %), mientras que el escurrimiento cortical fue muy bajo en los tres bosques (1-3 mm a-1, 0,1-0,2 %). La máxima intercepción se presentó en el pinar (329 mm a-1), equivalente al 19 % de la lluvia. A diferencia de estos flujos hídricos del dosel los flujos hídricos del suelo sí mostraron diferencias significativas entre coberturas (

Response of crop yield to different time-scales of drought in the United States: spatio-temporal patterns and climatic and environmental drivers

This article presents an analysis of the response of the annual crop yield in five main dryland cultivations in the United States to different time-scales of drought, and explores the environmental and climatic characteristics that determine the response. For this purpose we analysed barley, winter wheat, soybean, corn and cotton. Drought was quantified by means of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). The results demonstrate a strong response in the interannual variability of crop yields to the drought time-scales in the different cultivations. Moreover, the response is highly spatially variable. Crop types showed considerable differences in the month in which their yields are most strongly linked to drought conditions. Some crops (e.g. winter wheat) responded to drought at medium to long SPEI time-scales, while other crops (e.g. soybean and corn) responded to short or long drought time-scales. The study confirms that the differences in the patterns of crop yield response to drought time-scales are mostly controlled by average climate conditions, in general, and water availability (precipitation), in particular. Generally, we found that there is a weaker link between crop yield and drought severity in humid environments and also that the response tends to occur over longer time-scales

Long-term effects of intermittent adolescent alcohol exposure in male and female rats

Alcohol is a serious public health concern that has a differential impact on individuals depending upon age and sex. Patterns of alcohol consumption have recently changed: heavy episodic drinking—known as binge-drinking—has become most popular among the youth. Herein, we aimed to investigate the consequences of intermittent adolescent alcohol consumption in male and female animals. Thus, Wistar rats were given free access to ethanol (20% in drinking water) or tap water for 2-h sessions during 3 days, and for an additional 4-h session on the 4th day; every week during adolescence, from postnatal day (pnd) 28–52. During this period, animals consumed a moderate amount of alcohol despite blood ethanol concentration (BEC) did not achieve binge-drinking levels. No withdrawal signs were observed: no changes were observed regarding anxiety-like responses in the elevated plus-maze or plasma corticosterone levels (pnd 53–54). In the novel object recognition (NOR) test (pnd 63), a significant deficit in recognition memory was observed in both male and female rats. Western Blot analyses resulted in an increase in the expression of synaptophysin in the frontal cortex (FC) of male and female animals, together with a decrease in the expression of the CB2R in the same brain region. In addition, adolescent alcohol induced, exclusively among females, a decrease in several markers of dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission, in which epigenetic mechanisms, i.e., histone acetylation, might be involved. Taken together, further research is still needed to specifically correlate sex-specific brain and behavioral consequences of adolescent alcohol exposure

Large gangliocytic paraganglioma of the duodenum: A rare entity.

Journal Article;Gangliocytic paragangliomas are rare tumors that almost exclusively occur within the second portion of the duodenum. Although these tumors generally have a benign clinical course, they have the potential to recur or metastasize to regional lymph nodes. The case report presented here describes a 57-year-old female patient with melena, progressive asthenia, anemia, and a mass in the second-third portion of the duodenum that was treated by local excision. The patient was diagnosed with a friable bleeding tumor. The histologic analysis showed that the tumor was a 4 cm gangliocytic paraganglioma without a malignant cell pattern. In the absence of local invasion or distant metastasis, endoscopic resection represents a feasible, curative therapy. Although endoscopic polypectomy is currently considered the treatment of choice, it is not recommended if the size of the tumor is > 3 cm and/or there is active or recent bleeding. Patients diagnosed with a gangliocytic paraganglioma should be closely followed-up for possible local recurrence.Ye

Global ecological predictors of the soil priming effect.

Identifying the global drivers of soil priming is essential to understanding C cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. We conducted a survey of soils across 86 globally-distributed locations, spanning a wide range of climates, biotic communities, and soil conditions, and evaluated the apparent soil priming effect using 13C-glucose labeling. Here we show that the magnitude of the positive apparent priming effect (increase in CO2 release through accelerated microbial biomass turnover) was negatively associated with SOC content and microbial respiration rates. Our statistical modeling suggests that apparent priming effects tend to be negative in more mesic sites associated with higher SOC contents. In contrast, a single-input of labile C causes positive apparent priming effects in more arid locations with low SOC contents. Our results provide solid evidence that SOC content plays a critical role in regulating apparent priming effects, with important implications for the improvement of C cycling models under global change scenarios

Pharmaceutical and Botanical Management of Pain Associated with Psychopathology: A Narrative Review

Generally, pain can be described as an unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with tissue damage. Chronic pain has become a public health problem because among 35 and 75% of the world population has shown the symptom. In particular, neuropathic pain has shown high comorbidity disorders such as anxiety and depression. Conventional therapies for treating pain include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and opioids, which usually cause some side effects such as gastritis, headache, liver and kidney toxicity, and drug dependence. Conventional pharmaceuticals also tend to be expensive, and they cannot be easily afforded in developing countries, which have led to the use of natural products as an alternative treatment. In this chapter, we reviewed the current research of natural products for pain treatment. We also describe preclinical studies that assess the effect of some natural products on pain therapy, phytochemistry research, toxicity, adverse effects, and biosecurity. We also describe how conventional pain is managed and the possible use of compounds obtained from vegetable species for pain treatment