Adversarially Trained Autoencoders for Parallel-Data-Free Voice Conversion

We present a method for converting the voices between a set of speakers. Our method is based on training multiple autoencoder paths, where there is a single speaker-independent encoder and multiple speaker-dependent decoders. The autoencoders are trained with an addition of an adversarial loss which is provided by an auxiliary classifier in order to guide the output of the encoder to be speaker independent. The training of the model is unsupervised in the sense that it does not require collecting the same utterances from the speakers nor does it require time aligning over phonemes. Due to the use of a single encoder, our method can generalize to converting the voice of out-of-training speakers to speakers in the training dataset. We present subjective tests corroborating the performance of our method

Fetal skin as a pro-inflammatory organ: Evidence from a primate model of chorioamnionitis.

BackgroundIntrauterine infection is a primary cause of preterm birth and fetal injury. The pro-inflammatory role of the fetal skin in the setting of intrauterine infection remains poorly characterized. Whether or not inflammation of the fetal skin occurs in primates remains unstudied. Accordingly, we hypothesized that: i) the fetal primate skin would mount a pro-inflammatory response to preterm birth associated pro-inflammatory agents (lipopolysaccharides from Escherichia coli, live Ureaplasma parvum, interleukin-1β) and; ii) that inhibiting interleukin-1 signaling would decrease the skin inflammatory response.MethodsRhesus macaques with singleton pregnancies received intraamniotic injections of either sterile saline (control) or one of three pro-inflammatory agonists: E. coli lipopolysaccharides, interluekin-1β or live U. parvum under ultrasound guidance. A fourth group of animals received both E. coli lipopolysaccharide and interleukin-1 signaling inhibitor interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (Anakinra) prior to delivery. Animals were surgically delivered at approximately 130 days' gestational age.ResultsIntraamniotic lipopolysaccharide caused an inflammatory skin response characterized by increases in interluekin-1β,-6 and -8 mRNA at 16 hours. There was a modest inflammatory response to U. parvum, but interleukin-1β alone caused no inflammatory response in the fetal skin. Intraamniotic Anakinra treatment of lipopolysaccharide-exposed animals significantly reduced skin inflammation.ConclusionsIntraamniotic lipopolysaccharide and U. parvum were associated with modest increases in the expression of inflammatory mediators in primate fetal skin. Although administration of Interleukin-1β alone did not elicit an inflammatory response, lipopolysaccharide-driven skin inflammation was decreased following intraamniotic Anakinra therapy. These findings provide support for the role of the fetal skin in the development of the fetal inflammatory response

Precedence-type Test based on Progressively Censored Samples

In this paper, we introduce precedence-type tests for testing the hypothesis that two distribution functions are equal, which is an extension of the precedence life-test rst proposed by Nelson (1963), when the two samples are progressively Type-II censored. The null distributions of the test statistics are derived. Critical values for some combination of sample sizes and censoring schemes for the proposed tests are presented. Then, we present the exact power functions under the Lehmann alternative, and compare the exact power as well as simulated power (under location-shift) of the proposed precedence test based on nonparametric estimates of CDF with other precedence-type tests. We then examine the power properties of the proposed test procedures through Monte Carlo simulations. Two examples are presented to illustrate all the test procedures discussed here. Finally, we make some concluding remarks.Precedence test; Product-limit estimator; Type-II progressive censoring; Life-testing; level of significance; power; Lehmann alternative; Monte Carlo simulations

Biomimetic flow fields for proton exchange membrane fuel cells: A review of design trends

Bipolar Plate design is one of the most active research fields in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) development. Bipolar Plates are key components for ensuring an appropriate water management within the cell, preventing flooding and enhancing the cell operation at high current densities. This work presents a literature review covering bipolar plate designs based on nature or biological structures such as fractals, leaves or lungs. Biological inspiration comes from the fact that fluid distribution systems found in plants and animals such as leaves, blood vessels, or lungs perform their functions (mostly the same functions that are required for bipolar plates) with a remarkable efficiency, after millions of years of natural evolution. Such biomimetic designs have been explored to date with success, but it is generally acknowledged that biomimetic designs have not yet achieved their full potential. Many biomimetic designs have been derived using computer simulation tools, in particular Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) so that the use of CFD is included in the review. A detailed review including performance benchmarking, time line evolution, challenges and proposals, as well as manufacturing issues is discussed.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades ENE2017-91159-EXPMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad UNSE15-CE296

Calcium

Calcium in tissues of crustaceans exists in two states namely diffusible and non-diffusible. Diffusible calcium is also referred to as dialysable and ultra filterable calcium, which includes free calcium ions and calcium complexed with carbonate, citrate, phosphate and free acidic amino acids. Non-diffusible calcium is referred to as non-dialysable calcium and non-ultra filterable calcium. It is also commonly called as bound-calcium. In this state, calcium may be bound to proteins, lipids and acidic mucosubstances. Bound calcium is precipitable with 80% ethanol. The supernatant will contain dialysable fraction. Complete precipitation of bound calcium is achieved by diluting the tissues twenty times with ethanol (Kannan & Ravindranath, 1980)

Incorporating Forcing Terms in Cascaded Lattice-Boltzmann Approach by Method of Central Moments

Cascaded lattice-Boltzmann method (Cascaded-LBM) employs a new class of collision operators aiming to improve numerical stability. It achieves this and distinguishes from other collision operators, such as in the standard single or multiple relaxation time approaches, by performing relaxation process due to collisions in terms of moments shifted by the local hydrodynamic fluid velocity, i.e. central moments, in an ascending order-by-order at different relaxation rates. In this paper, we propose and derive source terms in the Cascaded-LBM to represent the effect of external or internal forces on the dynamics of fluid motion. This is essentially achieved by matching the continuous form of the central moments of the source or forcing terms with its discrete version. Different forms of continuous central moments of sources, including one that is obtained from a local Maxwellian, are considered in this regard. As a result, the forcing terms obtained in this new formulation are Galilean invariant by construction. The method of central moments along with the associated orthogonal properties of the moment basis completely determines the expressions for the source terms as a function of the force and macroscopic velocity fields. In contrast to the existing forcing schemes, it is found that they involve higher order terms in velocity space. It is shown that the proposed approach implies "generalization" of both local equilibrium and source terms in the usual lattice frame of reference, which depend on the ratio of the relaxation times of moments of different orders. An analysis by means of the Chapman-Enskog multiscale expansion shows that the Cascaded-LBM with forcing terms is consistent with the Navier-Stokes equations. Computational experiments with canonical problems involving different types of forces demonstrate its accuracy.Comment: 55 pages, 4 figure