GENDER INDEPENDENT DISCRIMINATIVE SPEAKER RECOGNITION IN I–VECTOR SPACE

Speaker recognition systems attain their best accuracy when trained with gender dependent features and tested with known gender trials. In real applications, however, gender labels are often not given. In this work we illustrate the design of a system that does not make use of the gender labels both in training and in test, i.e. a completely Gender Independent (GI) system. It relies on discriminative training, where the trials are i–vector pairs, and the discrimination is between the hypothesis that the pair of feature vectors in the trial belong to the same speaker or to different speakers. We demonstrate that this pairwise discriminative training can be interpreted as a procedure that estimates the parameters of the best (second order) approximation of the log–likelihood ratio score function, and that a pairwise SVM can be used for training a gender independent system. Our results show that a pairwise GI SVM, saving memory and execution time, achieves on the last NIST evaluations state–of–the–art performance, comparable to a Gender Dependent(GD) system

How are gender inequalities facing India’s one million ASHAs being addressed? Policy origins and adaptations for the world’s largest all-female community health worker programme

Background: India’s accredited social health activist (ASHA) programme consists of almost one million female community health workers (CHWs). Launched in 2005, there is now an ASHA in almost every village and across many urban centres who support health system linkages and provide basic health education and care. This paper examines how the programme is seeking to address gender inequalities facing ASHAs, from the programme's policy origins to recent adaptations. Methods: We reviewed all publically available government documents (n = 96) as well as published academic literature (n = 122) on the ASHA programme. We also drew from the embedded knowledge of this paper’s government-affiliated co-authors, triangulated with key informant interviews (n = 12). Data were analysed thematically through a gender lens. Results: Given that the initial impetus for the ASHA programme was to address reproductive and child health issues, policymakers viewed volunteer female health workers embedded in communities as best positioned to engage with beneficiaries. From these instrumentalist origins, where the programme was designed to meet health system demands, policy evolved to consider how the health system could better support ASHAs. Policy reforms included an increase in the number and regularity of incentivized tasks, social security measures, and government scholarships for higher education. Residential trainings were initiated to build empowering knowledge and facilitate ASHA solidarity. ASHAs were designated as secretaries of their village health committees, encouraging them to move beyond an all-female sphere and increasing their role in accountability initiatives. Measures to address gender based violence were also recently recommended. Despite these well-intended reforms and the positive gains realized, ongoing tensions and challenges related to their gendered social and employment status remain, requiring continued policy attention and adaptation

Sodium hydride as a powerful reducing agent for topotactic oxide deintercalation: Synthesis and characterization of the nickel(I) oxide LaNiO2

The capability of sodium hydride as a reducing agent in oxide deintercalation reactions is explored. The Ni(III) perovskite LaNiO3 can be reduced topotactically to LaNiO2, isostructural with the 'infinite layer' cuprates, using solid sodium hydride in a sealed evacuated tube at 190 ≤ T/°C ≤ 210, and a similar infinite-layer phase is prepared by reduction of NdNiO3. Structural characterization indicates the coexistence of incompletely reduced regions, with five-coordinate Ni centers due to the introduction of oxide anions between the NiO23- sheets, giving samples with a refined stoichiometry of LaNiO(2.025(3)). Neutron powder diffraction and magnetization measurements indicate that the lamellar Ni(I) phase does not show the long-range antiferromagnetic ordering characteristic of isoelectronic Cu(II) oxides. This may be due either to the influence of the interlamellar oxide defect regions or to the reduced covalent mixing of Ni 3d and O 2p levels

Estimated GFR and the Effect of Intensive Blood Pressure Lowering after Acute Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background: The kidney-brain interaction has been a topic of growing interest. Past studies of the effect of kidney function on intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) outcomes have yielded inconsistent findings. Although the second, main phase of the Intensive Blood Pressure Reduction in Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage Trial (INTERACT2) suggests the effectiveness of early intensive blood pressure (BP) lowering in improving functional recovery after ICH, the balance of potential benefits and harms of this treatment in those with decreased kidney function remains uncertain. Study Design: Secondary analysis of INTERACT2, which randomly assigned patients with ICH with elevated systolic BP (SBP) to intensive (target SBP < 140 mm Hg) or contemporaneous guideline-based (target SBP < 180 mm Hg) BP management. Setting & Participants: 2,823 patients from 144 clinical hospitals in 21 countries. Predictors Admission estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) of patients were categorized into 3 groups based on the CKD-EPI (Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration) creatinine equation: normal or high, mildly decreased, and moderately to severely decreased (>90, 60-90, and <60 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively). Outcomes: The effect of admission eGFR on the primary outcome of death or major disability at 90 days (defined as modified Rankin Scale scores of 3-6) was analyzed using a multivariable logistic regression model. Potential effect modification of intensive BP lowering treatment by admission eGFR was assessed by interaction terms. Results: Of 2,623 included participants, 912 (35%) and 280 (11%) had mildly and moderately/severely decreased eGFRs, respectively. Patients with moderately/severely decreased eGFRs had the greatest risk for death or major disability at 90 days (adjusted OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.28-2.61). Effects of early intensive BP lowering were consistent across different eGFRs (P = 0.5 for homogeneity). Limitations: Generalizability issues arising from a clinical trial population. Conclusions: Decreased eGFR predicts poor outcome in acute ICH. Early intensive BP lowering provides similar treatment effects in patients with ICH with decreased eGFRs