IteraTTA: An interface for exploring both text prompts and audio priors in generating music with text-to-audio models

Recent text-to-audio generation techniques have the potential to allow novice users to freely generate music audio. Even if they do not have musical knowledge, such as about chord progressions and instruments, users can try various text prompts to generate audio. However, compared to the image domain, gaining a clear understanding of the space of possible music audios is difficult because users cannot listen to the variations of the generated audios simultaneously. We therefore facilitate users in exploring not only text prompts but also audio priors that constrain the text-to-audio music generation process. This dual-sided exploration enables users to discern the impact of different text prompts and audio priors on the generation results through iterative comparison of them. Our developed interface, IteraTTA, is specifically designed to aid users in refining text prompts and selecting favorable audio priors from the generated audios. With this, users can progressively reach their loosely-specified goals while understanding and exploring the space of possible results. Our implementation and discussions highlight design considerations that are specifically required for text-to-audio models and how interaction techniques can contribute to their effectiveness.Comment: Accepted to the 24th International Society for Music Information Retrieval Conference (ISMIR 2023

CatAlyst: Domain-Extensible Intervention for Preventing Task Procrastination Using Large Generative Models

CatAlyst uses generative models to help workers' progress by influencing their task engagement instead of directly contributing to their task outputs. It prompts distracted workers to resume their tasks by generating a continuation of their work and presenting it as an intervention that is more context-aware than conventional (predetermined) feedback. The prompt can function by drawing their interest and lowering the hurdle for resumption even when the generated continuation is insufficient to substitute their work, while recent human-AI collaboration research aiming at work substitution depends on a stable high accuracy. This frees CatAlyst from domain-specific model-tuning and makes it applicable to various tasks. Our studies involving writing and slide-editing tasks demonstrated CatAlyst's effectiveness in helping workers swiftly resume tasks with a lowered cognitive load. The results suggest a new form of human-AI collaboration where large generative models publicly available but imperfect for each individual domain can contribute to workers' digital well-being.Comment: Accepted by ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '23

The effects of ERN1 on gene expression during early rhizobial infection in Lotus japonicus

Legumes develop root nodules in association with compatible rhizobia to overcome nitrogen deficiency. Rhizobia enter the host legume, mainly through infection threads, and induce nodule primordium formation in the root cortex. Multiple transcription factors have been identified to be involved in the regulation of the establishment of root nodule symbiosis, including ERF Required for Nodulation1 (ERN1). ERN1 is involved in a transcription network with CYCLOPS and NODULE INCEPTION (NIN). Mutation of ERN1 often results in misshapen root hair tips, deficient infection thread formation, and immature root nodules. ERN1 directly activates the expression of ENOD11 in Medicago truncatula to assist cell wall remodeling and Epr3 in Lotus japonicus to distinguish rhizobial exopolysaccharide signals. However, aside from these two genes, it remains unclear which genes are regulated by LjERN1 or what role LjERN1 plays during root nodule symbiosis. Thus, we conducted RNA sequencing to compare the gene expression profiles of wild-type L. japonicus and Ljern1-6 mutants. In total, 234 differentially expressed genes were identified as candidate LjERN1 target genes. These genes were found to be associated with cell wall remodeling, signal transduction, phytohormone metabolism, and transcription regulation, suggesting that LjERN1 is involved in multiple processes during the early stages of the establishment of root nodule symbiosis. Many of these candidate genes including RINRK1 showed decreased expression levels in Ljnin-2 mutants based on a search of a public database, suggesting that LjERN1 and LjNIN coordinately regulate gene expression. Our data extend the current understanding of the pleiotropic role of LjERN1 in root nodule symbiosis

Phase-Separated Structure of NBR/PVC Blends with Different Acrylonitrile Contents Investigated Using STEM–EDS Mapping Analysis

We investigated the phase-separated structure of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR)/polyvinyl chloride (PVC) blends with different acrylonitrile (AN) contents in the NBR, using dynamic mechanical analysis measurements and scanning-transmission-electron-microscopy (STEM)–energy-dispersive-X-ray-spectroscopy (EDS) elemental analysis. Two separate sharp tan δ peaks were observed in the blend at the lower AN content of 18.0%, whereas a broad peak was observed in the blends with the higher AN contents of 29.0 and 33.5%, due to the increase in miscibility, as expected from the decrease in the solubility parameter difference with the increasing AN content. The STEM–EDS elemental analysis for the concentration distribution showed that the NBR was mixed in the large PVC domains with a diameter of several micrometers, and the excluded PVC existed around the interface of the domain–matrix phases in the blend with the lower AN content, whereas small domains with a diameter of several tens of nanometers were dispersed in the blend with the higher AN content. The concentration difference in PVC between the PVC domain and the NBR matrix became smaller with increasing miscibility as the AN content increased although the blends contained the same PVC content of 40 wt%

Association of postpartum diseases occurring within 60 days after calving with productivity and reproductive performance in dairy cows in Fukuoka: A cow-level, retrospective cohort study

Peripartum disorders in dairy cows negatively influence their productivity and reproductive performance. However, only a few reports have clearly indicated the influence of such disorders on the productivity and reproductive performance at a local-area or cow-level in Japan. This study aimed to elucidate the influence of diseases occurring within 60 days after calving on subsequent productivity and reproductive performance. Accordingly, a wide-area database on dairy production was used for epidemiological analysis; subsequently, multivariable analysis was performed to investigate the association of such diseases with productivity or reproductive performance in 6,545 cows from 178 farms in Fukuoka. We used 305-day energy-corrected milk (305 ECM) as an index of productivity and conception and culling as indices of reproductive performance. With regard to causality, mixed-effects model was used for analyzing the association between disease and productivity, and Cox proportional hazard model was used for analyzing the association between disease and reproductive performance. Compared to the disease absence group, the disease presence group demonstrated significantly lower 305 ECM [−154 kg; 95% confidence interval (CI), −229 to −79] and risk of pregnancy [hazard ratio (HR), 0.85; 95% CI, 0.80–0.91] and higher risk of culling (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.17–1.59). These results indicate that, in Fukuoka, dairy cows affected by diseases within 60 days after calving exhibit lower productivity and reproductive performance. Therefore, proper dairy cow management during the peripartum period to prevent diseases during early lactation may maintain or improve productivity

Disseminated Intravascular Coagulopathy Is Associated with the Outcome of Persistent Inflammation, Immunosuppression and Catabolism Syndrome

Persistent inflammation, immunosuppression and catabolism syndrome (PIICS) often occur after critical care. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is expected to be associated independently with PIICS development. We retrospectively analyzed 5397 patients admitted to the Hitachi General Hospital emergency and critical care center during four years. We classified PIICS as C-reactive protein > 3.0 mg/dL or albumin < 3.0 g/dL or lymphocyte count < 800/μL on day 14. Prolonged hospital stay (>14 days) without PIICS and early recovery (discharged alive within 14 days) were assigned as non-PIICS. Early death (death within 14 days) was identified. We analyzed the association between the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis overt DIC and PIICS outcomes. Results revealed 488 PIICS, 416 early death and 4493 non-PIICS cases. Analyses showed DIC as associated significantly with mortality, the Barthel index at discharge and PIICS development. Multivariate regression analysis and a generalized structural equation model identified DIC on admission as an independent risk factor for PIICS in surviving patients