Combination of Multiple Acoustic Models with Multi-scale Features for Myanmar Speech Recognition

We proposed an approach to build a robust automatic speech recognizer using deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Deep CNNs have achieved a great success in acoustic modelling for automatic speech recognition due to its ability of reducing spectral variations and modelling spectral correlations in the input features. In most of the acoustic modelling using CNN, a fixed windowed feature patch corresponding to a target label (e.g., senone or phone) was used as input to the CNN. Considering different target labels may correspond to different time scales, multiple acoustic models were trained with different acoustic feature scales. Due to auxiliary information learned from different temporal scales could help in classification, multi-CNN acoustic models were combined based on a Recognizer Output Voting Error Reduction (ROVER) algorithm for final speech recognition experiments. The experiments were conducted on a Myanmar large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR) task. Our results showed that integration of temporal multi-scale features in model training achieved a 4.32% relative word error rate (WER) reduction over the best individual system on one temporal scale feature

Weight-based Word Sense Disambiguation Method for Myanmar-to-English Language Translation

In many natural language processing (NLP) techniques, machine translation is a popular and useful technique. Machine translation technique is a translation process from one to another language. This technique is thus very useful for people around the world. While translating the languages, ambiguity is a big challenge because many words have several meanings. Ambiguous words have damaging effects on the precision of machine translation. To solve this problem, word sense disambiguation (WSD) method is useful for automatically identifying the correct meaning of an ambiguous word. In order to have a better precision, weight-based WSD method is proposed by taking advantage of a Minkowski distance method. As the proposed method considers the weight values of each sense of training and input vectors while observing the ambiguous words, it is more effective than the simple translation system. Experimental results show that the weight-based WSD method gives a better precision approximately 51% when compared to the simple machine translation method

Experimental modal analysis of vehicle exhaust system to determine hanger location using root mean square value

Vibration of exhaust system due to the engine operation and the condition of the road surface which is transferable to the body through the hanger affects the noise, vibration and harshness performance of the vehicle, and the life time of the hangers. In order to solve this problem of the automobile exhaust system, experimental modal analysis was carried out by utilizing a sample exhaust system of passenger car as a research object within the frequency of interest. LMS Test. Lab was used to perform modal analysis. This study estimated the dynamic characteristics of the exhaust system such as natural frequencies and mode shapes. Using frequency response function at every measuring point, root mean square value (RMS) of vibrating energy was calculated to select hanger location of exhaust system where the RMS value is comparatively small. Experimental modal analysis is an efficient tool to study and estimate the dynamic properties of the exhaust system, and calculating RMS value is also an easy method to find hanger location of the exhaust system utilizing frequency response function

Experimental verification of parameters in automobile crankshaft modelling for vibration analysis

In the interest of utilized more stable automobile components at high speed for reduction the vibration of mechanical system, dynamic characteristics analysis plays a vital role in complex mechanical parts. This paper introduces a clarified approach on statistical investigation and modal analysis methodology to study, predict and accurate crankshaft natural frequencies by using design of experiment (DOE). In this research, first, simulation had been done with MSC Nastran/ Patran to find out the natural frequencies in each mode shape of crankshaft as well as the verification with experiment was carried out. In order to less inaccuracy, numerous simplified crankshaft models were created by using these as input and DOE was established to acquire precise parameters of optimized crankshaft design as the second phase. This method can be further used for the optimizing the structural parameters and would provide some value basis to qualitative measure of parameters and determination of optimized structure. In Conclusion, modal verification accuracy between experimental and simulation has improved

Myanmar migrants living along the Thailand-Myanmar border: Experiences related to pandemic and migration decisions

ImportanceIn Myanmar, amid political and civil unrest, droves of Burmese are displaced to neighboring countries including Thailand. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about the available healthcare services and health and well-being among refugees and migrant workers within resettlement areas along the Myanmar-Thailand border.ObjectiveTo explore the unmet needs of migrants along the Thailand-Myanmar border during the COVID-19 pandemic and their reasons for leaving Myanmar.DesignA qualitative study that used focus groups with migrant schoolteachers and school masters was undertaken. An interpretative analysis approach was used to analyze the data from the focus group sessions. The study followed the COREQ (COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative) checklist.SettingIn July 2022, community stakeholders from migrant schools located in the vicinity of Mae Sot, Thailand were referred to the study team.ParticipantsA purposive sample of 17 adult participants was recruited from 4 migrant schools. The participants were schoolteachers and schoolmasters who had traveled from Myanmar to Thailand 1 to 20 years ago.Main outcomes and measuresThematic analysis was used to scrutinize qualitative data for the outcomes of health and well-being, barriers, and reasons for migration.ResultsThree main themes were identified: "issues related to the pandemic", "teenage marriage and pregnancies" and "migration decisions". The issues related to the pandemic included behavior changes in children, a diminished quality of education, and barriers to receiving COVID-19 vaccines and accessing other health care. There were more dropouts due to teenage pregnancy/marriage during the shelter in place mandate. Migration decisions were affected by concerns over health, civil unrest, and military harassment.Conclusions and relevanceThis study presented the difficulties experienced by Myanmar migrants currently living along the Thailand-Myanmar border. The reasons for leaving Myanmar included health and safety. Suspending education during the pandemic caused more school dropouts due to teenage pregnancy/marriage. Additionally, behavioral changes in children, a diminished quality of education, barriers to receiving COVID-19 vaccines and access to other health care services were reported. Future studies should focus on how migration stress and access to mental health care impact the migrant population

Qualitative study of parental perceptions of barriers & enablers of girls’ education in Monywa, Myanmar

In Myanmar, there are no significant gaps in literacy rates for boys and girls in the age group 15-19 years. However, the gap gradually increases after the age of 19. The study explored parents’ attitudes towards girls’ and boys’ schooling in Monywa, Myanmar to better understand parental perceptions. Findings show both rural and urban parents equally in favor of educating both daughters and sons, even when there’s a financial struggle for the family. One respondent observed that girls’ education was more likely to be prioritized if the girl was smart, while boys’ education was likely to be prioritized regardless

Negotiating and Struggling for a New Life: Stigma, Spirituality, and Coping Strategies of People Living with HIV in Myanmar

Although enacted and internalized stigma is a continuing problem for people living with HIV (PLWH) in Southeast Asia, there is little understanding of how PLWH cope with discrimination, exclusion, and other negative outcomes caused by HIV-related stigmatization. This article aims to bridge this gap by analyzing the lived experiences of HIV-related stigmatization and coping strategies among 30 people with HIV in Myanmar, a country heavily influenced by religion, especially Buddhism. Among the 30 study participants, 20 were female and 10 were male, with ages ranging from 18 to 50 years. Through the lens of Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, field, and capital, this article first elucidates the various forms of stigmatization in family, work, social, and other settings as symbolic violence on people with HIV. The present article shows that spirituality serves as a perceptual and action framework for people with HIV to generate reflexivity toward their HIV infection and related stigmatization and to further engage in agentic responses. More importantly, this article demonstrates how people with HIV draw on spirituality to support peers in reclaiming control over their lives and how they are perceived by society. The findings indicate that the local context, especially cultural and religious resources, should be considered when developing interventions to mitigate HIV-related stigmatization in Southeast Asia

Investigating associations between nematode infection and three measures of sociality in Asian elephants

Frequent social interactions, proximity to conspecifics, and group density are main drivers of infections and parasite transmissions. However, recent theoretical and empirical studies suggest that the health benefits of sociality and group living can outweigh the costs of infection and help social individuals fight infections or increase their infection-related tolerance level. Here, we combine the advantage of studying artificially created social work groups with different demographic compositions with free-range feeding and social behaviours in semi-captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), employed in timber logging in Myanmar. We examine the link between gastro-intestinal nematode load (strongyles and Strongyloides spp.), estimated by faecal egg counts, and three different aspects of an elephant's social world: individual solitary behaviour, work group size, and work group sex ratio. Controlling for sex, age, origin, time since last deworming treatment, year, human sampler bias, and individual identity, we found that infection by nematodes ranged from 0 to 2720 eggs/g between and within 26 male and 45 female elephants over the 4-year study period. However, such variation was not linked to any investigated measures of sociality in either males or females. Our findings highlight the need for finer-scale studies, establishing how sociality is limited by, mitigates, or protects against infection in different ecological contexts, to fully understand the mechanisms underlying these pathways. Significance statement Being social involves not only benefits, such as improved health, but also costs, including increased risk of parasitism and infectious disease. We studied the relationship between and three different sociality measures-solitary behaviour, group size, and the proportion of females to males within a group-and infection by gut nematodes (roundworms), using a unique study system of semi-captive working Asian elephants. Our system allows for observing how infection is linked to sociality measures across different social frameworks. We found that none of our social measures was associated with nematode infection in the studied elephants. Our results therefore suggest that here infection is not a large cost to group living, that it can be alleviated by the benefits of increased sociality, or that there are weak infection-sociality associations present which could not be captured and thus require finer-scale measures than those studied here. Overall, more studies are needed from a diverse range of systems that investigate specific aspects of social infection dynamics.Peer reviewe

XRD and SEM Analysis, and Semiconductor Type Determination of TiO2 for Dye-sensitized Solar Cell

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a wide band-gap n-type semiconductor. Anatase TiO2 is the most common structure used in high performance dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Nanoporous TiO2 serves double-duty as an electron acceptor and a scaffold to hold large numbers of dye molecules in DSSC. The porosity of TiO2 is a key feature as it has roughly a thousand times greater a surface area than the equivalent flat area. In this work, TiO2 crystallite size (43.55 nm) has been calculated by using XRD data, and the morphology and the grain-size of TiO2 (average grain size of 0.2 mm ~ 0.3 mm) with different solvents have been also studied by SEM

Seismic Risk Analysis for Critical Infrastructure: The Case Study of a Medical Center and its Supporting Systems in Yangon, Myanmar

Myanmar has a great strike-slip active fault called the “Sagaing Fault Zone” besides the Sumatra-Andaman Subduction Zone. Major cities (Yangon, Naypyitaw, Bago and Mandalay) are at risk along this fault. Recently, in 2012, Thabeikkyin earthquake with Magnitude of 6.8 caused collapse of many residential housings and ground failures near Mandalay. Therefore more attention should be paid for Yangon which has no large earthquakes since 1930 and is the largest not only in population but also in socio-economic activity. One of the most important concerns after an earthquake is to survive under any disastrous conditions. The medical care is requested not only for emergent injured people after an earthquake, but also for various types of patient and aged people from several weeks to longer periods. So medical center must be always functional before and after earthquake. For this purpose, medical buildings should be structurally resilient and also be functional for medical services by sustainable supply of electric power, water and any other delivery service which can be carried out by urban lifeline systems. This research is to investigate the structural vulnerability of hospital buildings and facilities, to assess the performance of urban lifeline systems and to check the operational capability of medical services in which surgical capability and life safety management method should be discussed. The water supply system is adopted as a typical lifeline system in Yangon in this study. One sample medical center in Yangon is adopted to carry out this analysis. Finally, the performance of medical services after the earthquakes can be assessed in a probabilistic manner