Feature extraction based on bio-inspired model for robust emotion recognition

Emotional state identification is an important issue to achieve more natural speech interactive systems. Ideally, these systems should also be able to work in real environments in which generally exist some kind of noise. Several bio-inspired representations have been applied to artificial systems for speech processing under noise conditions. In this work, an auditory signal representation is used to obtain a novel bio-inspired set of features for emotional speech signals. These characteristics, together with other spectral and prosodic features, are used for emotion recognition under noise conditions. Neural models were trained as classifiers and results were compared to the well-known mel-frequency cepstral coefficients. Results show that using the proposed representations, it is possible to significantly improve the robustness of an emotion recognition system. The results were also validated in a speaker independent scheme and with two emotional speech corpora.Fil: Albornoz, Enrique Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional; ArgentinaFil: Milone, Diego Humberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional; ArgentinaFil: Rufiner, Hugo Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional; Argentin

Smc5/6 coordinates formation and resolution of joint molecules with chromosome morphology to ensure meiotic divisions

During meiosis, Structural Maintenance of Chromosome (SMC) complexes underpin two fundamental features of meiosis: homologous recombination and chromosome segregation. While meiotic functions of the cohesin and condensin complexes have been delineated, the role of the third SMC complex, Smc5/6, remains enigmatic. Here we identify specific, essential meiotic functions for the Smc5/6 complex in homologous recombination and the regulation of cohesin. We show that Smc5/6 is enriched at centromeres and cohesin-association sites where it regulates sister-chromatid cohesion and the timely removal of cohesin from chromosomal arms, respectively. Smc5/6 also localizes to recombination hotspots, where it promotes normal formation and resolution of a subset of joint-molecule intermediates. In this regard, Smc5/6 functions independently of the major crossover pathway defined by the MutLγ complex. Furthermore, we show that Smc5/6 is required for stable chromosomal localization of the XPF-family endonuclease, Mus81-Mms4Eme1. Our data suggest that the Smc5/6 complex is required for specific recombination and chromosomal processes throughout meiosis and that in its absence, attempts at cell division with unresolved joint molecules and residual cohesin lead to severe recombination-induced meiotic catastroph

New fixed point theorem under R-contractions

In this manuscript we introduce the notions of R-function and R-contractions, and we show an ad hoc fixed point theorem. We prove that this new kind of contractions properly includes the family of all Meir-Keeler contractions and other well-known classes of contractions that have been given very recently (for instance, those using simulation functions and manageable functions). As a consequence, our approach turns out to be appropriate to unify the treatment of different kinds of contractive nonlinear operators.This article was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah. The second author, therefore, acknowledges with thanks DSR for technical and financial support. The authors are grateful to three anonymous referees for their useful suggestions and comments. AF Roldán López de Hierro is grateful to the Department of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business of the University of Granada. The same author has been partially supported by Junta de Andalucía by project FQM-268 of the Andalusian CICYE

Parallel imaging: is GRAPPA a useful acquisition tool for MR imaging intended for volumetric brain analysis?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The work presented here investigates parallel imaging applied to T1-weighted high resolution imaging for use in longitudinal volumetric clinical studies involving Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients. This was in an effort to shorten acquisition times to minimise the risk of motion artefacts caused by patient discomfort and disorientation. The principle question is, "Can parallel imaging be used to acquire images at 1.5 T of sufficient quality to allow volumetric analysis of patient brains?"</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Optimisation studies were performed on a young healthy volunteer and the selected protocol (including the use of two different parallel imaging acceleration factors) was then tested on a cohort of 15 elderly volunteers including MCI and AD patients. In addition to automatic brain segmentation, hippocampus volumes were manually outlined and measured in all patients. The 15 patients were scanned on a second occasion approximately one week later using the same protocol and evaluated in the same manner to test repeatability of measurement using images acquired with the GRAPPA parallel imaging technique applied to the MPRAGE sequence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Intraclass correlation tests show that almost perfect agreement between repeated measurements of both segmented brain parenchyma fraction and regional measurement of hippocampi. The protocol is suitable for both global and regional volumetric measurement dementia patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In summary, these results indicate that parallel imaging can be used without detrimental effect to brain tissue segmentation and volumetric measurement and should be considered for both clinical and research studies where longitudinal measurements of brain tissue volumes are of interest.</p

Effectiveness of Non-nucleoside Reverse-Transcriptase Inhibitor-Based Antiretroviral Therapy in Women Previously Exposed to a Single Intrapartum Dose of Nevirapine: A Multi-country, Prospective Cohort Study

In a comparative cohort study, Jeffrey Stringer and colleagues investigate the risk of ART failure in women who received single-dose nevirapine for PMTCT, and assess the duration of increased risk

Excessive Biologic Response to IFNβ Is Associated with Poor Treatment Response in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Interferon-beta (IFNβ) is used to inhibit disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS), but its mechanisms of action are incompletely understood, individual treatment response varies, and biological markers predicting response to treatment have yet to be identified.he relationship between the molecular response to IFNβ and treatment response was determined in 85 patients using a longitudinal design in which treatment effect was categorized by brain magnetic resonance imaging as good (n = 70) or poor response (n = 15). Molecular response was quantified using a customized cDNA macroarray assay for 166 IFN-regulated genes (IRGs).The molecular response to IFNβ differed significantly between patients in the pattern and number of regulated genes. The molecular response was strikingly stable for individuals for as long as 24 months, however, suggesting an individual ‘IFN response fingerprint’. Unexpectedly, patients with poor response showed an exaggerated molecular response. IRG induction ratios demonstrated an exaggerated molecular response at both the first and 6-month IFNβ injections.MS patients exhibit individually unique but temporally stable biological responses to IFNβ. Poor treatment response is not explained by the duration of biological effects or the specific genes induced. Rather, individuals with poor treatment response have a generally exaggerated biological response to type 1 IFN injections. We hypothesize that the molecular response to type I IFN identifies a pathogenetically distinct subset of MS patients whose disease is driven in part by innate immunity. The findings suggest a strategy for biologically based, rational use of IFNβ for individual MS patients

Ultrathin graphene-based membrane with precise molecular sieving and ultrafast solvent permeation

Graphene oxide (GO) membranes continue to attract intense interest due to their unique molecular sieving properties combined with fast permeation. However, their use is limited to aqueous solutions because GO membranes appear impermeable to organic solvents, a phenomenon not yet fully understood. Here, we report efficient and fast filtration of organic solutions through GO laminates containing smooth two-dimensional (2D) capillaries made from large (10-20 μm) flakes. Without modification of sieving characteristics, these membranes can be made exceptionally thin, down to â 1/410 nm, which translates into fast water and organic solvent permeation. We attribute organic solvent permeation and sieving properties to randomly distributed pinholes interconnected by short graphene channels with a width of 1 nm. With increasing membrane thickness, organic solvent permeation rates decay exponentially but water continues to permeate quickly, in agreement with previous reports. The potential of ultrathin GO laminates for organic solvent nanofiltration is demonstrated by showing >99.9% rejection of small molecular weight organic dyes dissolved in methanol. Our work significantly expands possibilities for the use of GO membranes in purification and filtration technologies

Sentinel surveillance for human enterovirus 71 in Sarawak, Malaysia: lessons from the first 7 years

BACKGROUND: A major outbreak of human enterovirus 71-associated hand, foot and mouth disease in Sarawak in 1997 marked the beginning of a series of outbreaks in the Asia Pacific region. Some of these outbreaks had unusually high numbers of fatalities and this generated much fear and anxiety in the region. METHODS: We established a sentinel surveillance programme for hand, foot and mouth disease in Sarawak, Malaysia, in March 1998, and the observations of the first 7 years are described here. Virus isolation, serotyping and genotyping were performed on throat, rectal, vesicle and other swabs. RESULTS: During this period Sarawak had two outbreaks of human enterovirus 71, in 2000 and 2003. The predominant strains circulating in the outbreaks of 1997, 2000 and 2003 were all from genogroup B, but the strains isolated during each outbreak were genetically distinct from each other. Human enterovirus 71 outbreaks occurred in a cyclical pattern every three years and Coxsackievirus A16 co-circulated with human enterovirus 71. Although vesicles were most likely to yield an isolate, this sample was not generally available from most cases and obtaining throat swabs was thus found to be the most efficient way to obtain virological information. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of the epidemiology of human enterovirus 71 transmission will allow public health personnel to predict when outbreaks might occur and to plan interventions in an effective manner in order to reduce the burden of disease

Stabilizing Salt-Bridge Enhances Protein Thermostability by Reducing the Heat Capacity Change of Unfolding

Most thermophilic proteins tend to have more salt bridges, and achieve higher thermostability by up-shifting and broadening their protein stability curves. While the stabilizing effect of salt-bridge has been extensively studied, experimental data on how salt-bridge influences protein stability curves are scarce. Here, we used double mutant cycles to determine the temperature-dependency of the pair-wise interaction energy and the contribution of salt-bridges to ΔCp in a thermophilic ribosomal protein L30e. Our results showed that the pair-wise interaction energies for the salt-bridges E6/R92 and E62/K46 were stabilizing and insensitive to temperature changes from 298 to 348 K. On the other hand, the pair-wise interaction energies between the control long-range ion-pair of E90/R92 were negligible. The ΔCp of all single and double mutants were determined by Gibbs-Helmholtz and Kirchhoff analyses. We showed that the two stabilizing salt-bridges contributed to a reduction of ΔCp by 0.8–1.0 kJ mol−1 K−1. Taken together, our results suggest that the extra salt-bridges found in thermophilic proteins enhance the thermostability of proteins by reducing ΔCp, leading to the up-shifting and broadening of the protein stability curves