Fed-EE: Federating Heterogeneous ASR Models using Early-Exit Architectures

Automatic speech recognition models require large speech recordings for training. However, the collection of such data often is cumbersome and leads to privacy concerns. Federated learning has been widely used as an effective decentralized technique that collaboratively learns a shared model while keeping the data local on clients devices. Unfortunately, client devices often feature limited computation and communication resources leading to practical difficulties for large models. In addition, the heterogeneity that characterizes edge devices make unpractical federating a single model that fits all the different clients. Differently from the recent literature, where multiple different architectures are used, in this work we 10 propose using early-exiting. This brings 2 benefits: a single model is used on a variety of devices; federating the models is straightforward. Experiments on the public dataset TED-LIUM 3 show that our proposed approach is effective and can be combined with basic federated learning strategies. We also shed light on how to federate self-attention models for speech recognition, for which an established recipe does not exist in literature

Electro-mechanical system control based on observers

International audienceThe prediction of the gear behavior is becoming major concerns in many industries. For this reason, in this article, an electro-mechanical modeling is developed in order to simulate a gear element driven by an asynchronous motor. The electrical part, which is the induction motor, is simulated by using the Kron's model while the mechanical part, which is the single stage gear element, is accounted for by a torsional model. The mechanical model that simulates the pinion-gear pair is obtained by reducing the degree of freedom of the global spur or helical gear system. The electrical and mechanical state variables are combined in order to obtain a unique differential system that describes the dynamics of the elecro-mechanical system. The global coupled electro-mechanical model can be characterized by a unique set of non-linear state equations. The contribution of this work is to apply the control based on observers in order to supervise the electrical and mechanical behavior of the electro-mechanical system from only its inputs and its measurements outputs (sensors outputs). Some simulations on pinon/motor angular speed, electromagnetic torque, currents, are presented, which illustrate the system evolution (i.e., the electrical and mechanical quantities) and the good performances of the proposed observers

Application of homogeneous observers with variable exponent to a mechatronic system

International audiencePreventive maintenance becomes nowadays more and more essential in many industrial applications. In fact, researchers are always looking for new techniques and analysis tools to monitor the dynamic behavior of their machines. In this context, firstly, we deal with the modeling of an electromechanical system which is accounted for by a hybrid model obtained by assembling the mechanical model of a gear element and the electrical model of an asynchronous motor. Secondly, we use Sliding Mode Observers to supervise the gear dynamic behavior. The observers parameters are suitably chosen to ensure rapid and accurate convergence between the real and the estimated system quantities. Finally, a comparative study between three simulations is presented in order to illustrate the observers performances and the influence of the mechanical dynamics on the electrical ones

Folic acid restores endothelial function in ACTH-induced hypertension

AbstractHypertension is associated with increased oxidative stress and vascular endothelium dysfunction. The aim was to study the effect of folic acid (FA) on hypertension, blood nitric oxide (NO), homocysteine (HCY), malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH); aortic tissue glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD); and vascular endothelial function in adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH)-induced hypertension rats. Rats were treated with saline or FA alone (0.04g/L/day orally, control), or subcutaneous ACTH-induced hypertension (0.2mg/kg/day, ACTH) groups. Treated FA groups were started before (Folic–ACTH, prevention) and during (ACTH–Folic, reversal) ACTH administrations. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), thymus/body weight ratio, blood urea, creatinine, NO, HCY, MDA and GSH; aortic endothelium-dependent vasodilator (EDD) in response to acetylcholine (ACh), aortic tissue extract for CAT, GPx, and SOD activity; and histopathological changes of aorta and kidney were assessed. Saline or FA alone did not change SBP (P>0.05). FA, in prevention study, significantly decreased SBP, increased serum NO and GSH, enhanced relaxation response (EDD%) to 1×10−4M ACh; increased aortic tissue GPx, CAT and SOD activity, also revealed nearly normal endothelial cell layer and moderately positive cytoplasmic staining for CD34+ expression versus ACTH-treated rats (P<0.05). In contrast, FA, in reversal study, did not show significant changes in most of the measured parameters as ACTH-treated group (P>0.05). FA can be used as an adjuvant therapy for prevention and treatment of ACTH-induced hypertension. The protective role of FA in ACTH-induced hypertension could be attributed via decreasing HCY, MDA (oxidative stress); increasing NO, GSH, GPx, CAT, SOD activity (antioxidants); and restoring endothelial dysfunction

2-Phen­oxy-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]quinazol­in-5(4H)-one

The triazoloquinazole ring system in the title compound, C15H10N4O2 is approximately planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.035 Å). The phenyl ring of the phen­oxy substitutent is aligned at 59.3 (1)° with respect to this ring system. In the crystal, two mol­ecules are linked about a center of inversion by a pair of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating a dimer

Gestion Des Risques Majeurs Au Maroc: Les Instabilités De Terrain

Instabilities of the ground is regarded as one of the most serious problems that affect many areas in Morocco. The study is important and beneficial because it concerns various sections of the Rif area. Indeed, certain zones which came at the top have been seriously affected. Disorders are numerous: destruction of homes, loss of agricultural land, and deterioration of infrastructure (roads, railways, and bridges). The aim of this study is focused on the zones where the road network generally is much damaged. This, however, causes a disturbance and even an interruption of the road traffic during stormy periods. The detailed study of lithology, climatology, geomorphology, hydrology, and the slope of the studied zones allows us to highlight the characteristics of the unstable grounds. It also helped us to figure out that the rheological nature of the ground plays a significant role in the characterization of the type of movement.The analysis of various movements which was found enables us to conclude that an instability of the ground depends on the conjunction on many factors, whether they are of provision or release. The most important factors causing the instabilities of the ground are: The alternation of rocks of nature; permeability and plasticity were well contrasted. The rugged relief and steep slopes. Geotechnical properties. Seismicity. Irregular rainfall. Geomorphology and land use. Anthropogenic action. Spatial distribution of the risk zones shows that the majority of the studied sections experience strong risks and medium risks levels