Signal Reconstruction from Mel-spectrogram Based on Bi-level Consistency of Full-band Magnitude and Phase

We propose an optimization-based method for reconstructing a time-domain signal from a low-dimensional spectral representation such as a mel-spectrogram. Phase reconstruction has been studied to reconstruct a time-domain signal from the full-band short-time Fourier transform (STFT) magnitude. The Griffin-Lim algorithm (GLA) has been widely used because it relies only on the redundancy of STFT and is applicable to various audio signals. In this paper, we jointly reconstruct the full-band magnitude and phase by considering the bi-level relationships among the time-domain signal, its STFT coefficients, and its mel-spectrogram. The proposed method is formulated as a rigorous optimization problem and estimates the full-band magnitude based on the criterion used in GLA. Our experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method on speech, music, and environmental signals.Comment: Accepted to IEEE WASPAA 202

Single-Switch User Interface for Robot Arm to Help Disabled People Using RT-Middleware

We are developing a manipulator system in order to support disabled people with less muscle strength such as muscular dystrophy patients. Such a manipulator should have an easy user interface for the users to control it. But the supporting manipulator for disabled people cannot make large industry, so we should offer inexpensive manufacturing way. These type products are called “orphan products.” We report on the construction of the user interface system using RT-Middleware which is an open software platform for robot systems. Therefore other user interface components or robot components which are adapted to other symptoms can be replaced with the user interface without any change of the contents. A single switch and scanning menu panel are introduced as the input device for the manual control of the robot arm. The scanning menu panel is designed to perform various actions of the robot arm with the single switch. A manipulator simulation system was constructed to evaluate the input performance. Two muscular dystrophy patients tried our user interface to control the robot simulator and made comments. According to the comments by them, we made several improvements on the user interface. This improvements examples prepare inexpensive manufacturing way for orphan products

The complete mitochondrial genome of Anisakis pegreffii Campana-Rouget & Biocca, 1955, (Nematoda, Chromadorea, Rhabditida, Anisakidae) - clarification of mitogenome sequences of the Anisakis simplex species complex

The complete mitochondrial genome of Anisakis pegreffii (former A. simplex A) was determined using the Illumina HiSeq platform. The genome was 14,002 bp in length made up of 36 mitochondrial genes (12 CDSs, 22 tRNAs, and 2 rRNAs). Phylogenetic analysis clarified the mitogenome sequences of the three sibling species of the A. simplex species complex, A. pegreffii, A. simplex sensu stricto and A. berlandi (former A. simplex C)

Oocyte collection and in vitro maturation after train transportation of human follicular fluid aspirated from resected non-stimulated ovaries of patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma

PurposeImmature human oocytes from resected ovaries can be used for research and fertility preservation, though it is unknown whether it is feasible to transport oocytes for these purposes. This study examined in vitro maturation (IVM) outcomes after the transportation of human follicular fluid (HFF) containing oocytes. MethodsFourteen patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma were enrolled. Oocytes obtained from the resected ovaries of seven patients were transported with HFF by railway (transportation group). Samples of HFF from the other seven patients were not transported, and IVM was performed promptly (non-transportation group). The results of oocyte retrieval and IVM were compared. ResultsThe average ages in the transportation and non-transportation groups were 40.12.0 and 39.6 +/- 1.8years, respectively, and the average numbers of collected oocytes were 8.1 +/- 8.4 and 5.1 +/- 5.1, respectively. There was a significant negative correlation between the number of collected oocytes and age. The proportions of oocytes that reached meiosis II (maturation rate) after IVM were 38.6% and 69.2% in the transportation and non-transportation groups, respectively (P=0.013). ConclusionIn this preliminary study, the usefulness of the transportation of HFF was limited. Further studies on maintaining oocyte normality during transportation are necessary for becoming the effective method for research and clinical use

The inhibitory effects of a RANKL-binding peptide on articular and periarticular bone loss in a murine model of collagen-induced arthritis: a bone histomorphometric study

Showing the effects of OP3-4 on the proliferation and differentiation of cartilage cell line ATDC5. A Results of proliferation assay on day 1 with the noninduction medium. B Alcian blue-positive area ratio in the cartilage induction medium on day 10. **p <0.01 vs. vehicle control, #p <0.05 vs. 100 ÎźM OP3-4. (JPEG 384 kb

The location of 8-shaped hatching influences inner cell mass formation in mouse blastocysts

The hatching of a blastocyst where the blastocyst portions on the inside and the outside of the zona pellucida feature a figure-of-eight shape is termed 8-shaped hatching; this type of hatching has been reported to affect the proper presentation of the inner cell mass (ICM) in both human and mouse embryos. Here, our aim was to investigate the factors that affect ICM presentation during 8-shaped hatching. We performed IVF by using B6D2F1 female mice and ICR male mice, and used the 104 captured blastocysts. Embryos were maintained in KSOM at 37 degrees C in a 5% CO2, 5% O-2, and 90% N-2 environment, and their growth behavior was monitored individually and continuously using time-lapse cinematography. At 120 h after insemination, embryos were immunostained and examined under a confocal microscope. We used the hatching form to identify 8-shaped hatching, and we classified the 8 shaped- hatching blastocysts into two groups, one in which the hatching site was near the ICM center, and the other in which the hatching site was far from the ICM center. We measured each group for ICM size and the number of Oct3/4-positive cells. Of the 95 hatching or hatched embryos, 74 were 8-shaped-hatching blastocysts, and in these embryos, the ICM was significantly wider when the hatching site was near the ICM than when the hatching site was far from the ICM (P = 0.0091). Moreover, in the 8-shaped-hatching blastocysts in which the ICM was included in the blastocyst portion outside the zona pellucida. the portion defined as the outside blastocyst. after the collapse of this outside blastocyst, the ICM adhered to the trophectoderm of the outside blastocyst, opposite the hatching site. Our results indicate that in 8-shaped-hatching blastocysts, the hatching site and the collapse of outside blastocyst affect ICM formation. Thus, the assessment of 8-shaped hatching behaviors could yield indices for accurately evaluating embryo quality

Plaque REgression with Cholesterol absorption Inhibitor or Synthesis inhibitor Evaluated by IntraVascular UltraSound (PRECISE-IVUS Trial): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

AbstractBackgroundAlthough the positive association between achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level and the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) has been confirmed by randomized studies with statins, many patients remain at high residual risk of events suggesting the necessity of novel pharmacologic strategies. The combination of ezetimibe/statin produces greater reductions in LDL-C compared to statin monotherapy.PurposeThe Plaque REgression with Cholesterol absorption Inhibitor or Synthesis inhibitor Evaluated by IntraVascular UltraSound (PRECISE-IVUS) trial was aimed at evaluating the effects of ezetimibe addition to atorvastatin, compared with atorvastatin monotherapy, on coronary plaque regression and change in lipid profile in patients with CAD.MethodsThe study is a prospective, randomized, controlled, multicenter study. The eligible patients undergoing IVUS-guided percutaneous coronary intervention will be randomly assigned to receive either atorvastatin alone or atorvastatin plus ezetimibe (10mg) daily using a web-based randomization software. The dosage of atorvastatin will be increased by titration within the usual dose range with a treatment goal of lowering LDL-C below 70mg/dL based on consecutive measures of LDL-C at follow-up visits. IVUS will be performed at baseline and 9–12 months follow-up time point at participating cardiovascular centers. The primary endpoint will be the nominal change in percent coronary atheroma volume measured by volumetric IVUS analysis.ConclusionPRECISE-IVUS will assess whether the efficacy of combination of ezetimibe/atorvastatin is noninferior to atorvastatin monotherapy for coronary plaque reduction, and will translate into increased clinical benefit of dual lipid-lowering strategy in a Japanese population

Flexible and Comprehensive Framework of Element Selection Based on Nonconvex Sparse Optimization

We propose an element selection method for high-dimensional data that is applicable to a wide range of optimization criteria in a unifying manner. Element selection is a fundamental technique for reducing dimensionality of high-dimensional data by simple operations without the use of scalar multiplication. Restorability is one of the commonly used criteria in element selection, and the element selection problem based on restorability is formulated as a minimization problem of a loss function representing the restoration error between the original data and the restored data. However, conventional methods are applicable only to a limited class of loss functions such as $\ell _{2}$ norm loss. To enable the use of a wide variety of criteria, we reformulate the element selection problem as a nonconvex sparse optimization problem and derive the optimization algorithm based on Douglas&#x2013;Rachford splitting method. The proposed algorithm is applicable to any loss function as long as its proximal operator is available, e.g., $\ell _{1}$ norm loss and $\ell _{\infty}$ norm loss as well as $\ell _{2}$ norm loss. We conducted numerical experiments using artificial and real data, and their results indicate that the above loss functions are successfully minimized by the proposed algorithm

The phospholipid flippase ATP9A is required for the recycling pathway from the endosomes to the plasma membrane

Type IV P-type ATPases (P4-ATPases) are phospholipid flippases that translocate phospholipids from the exoplasmic (or luminal) to the cytoplasmic leaflet of lipid bilayers. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, P4-ATPases are localized to specific subcellular compartments and play roles in compartment-mediated membrane trafficking; however, roles of mammalian P4-ATPases in membrane trafficking are poorly understood. We previously reported that ATP9A, one of 14 human P4-ATPases, is localized to endosomal compartments and the Golgi complex. In this study, we found that ATP9A is localized to phosphatidylserine (PS)-positive early and recycling endosomes, but not late endosomes, in HeLa cells. Depletion of ATP9A delayed the recycling of transferrin from endosomes to the plasma membrane, although it did not affect the morphology of endosomal structures. Moreover, depletion of ATP9A caused accumulation of glucose transporter 1 in endosomes, probably by inhibiting their recycling. By contrast, depletion of ATP9A affected neither the early/late endosomal transport and degradation of epidermal growth factor (EGF) nor the transport of Shiga toxin B fragment from early/recycling endosomes to the Golgi complex. Therefore ATP9A plays a crucial role in recycling from endosomes to the plasma membrane