Is Attention always needed? A Case Study on Language Identification from Speech

Language Identification (LID) is a crucial preliminary process in the field of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) that involves the identification of a spoken language from audio samples. Contemporary systems that can process speech in multiple languages require users to expressly designate one or more languages prior to utilization. The LID task assumes a significant role in scenarios where ASR systems are unable to comprehend the spoken language in multilingual settings, leading to unsuccessful speech recognition outcomes. The present study introduces convolutional recurrent neural network (CRNN) based LID, designed to operate on the Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) characteristics of audio samples. Furthermore, we replicate certain state-of-the-art methodologies, specifically the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Attention-based Convolutional Recurrent Neural Network (CRNN with attention), and conduct a comparative analysis with our CRNN-based approach. We conducted comprehensive evaluations on thirteen distinct Indian languages and our model resulted in over 98\% classification accuracy. The LID model exhibits high-performance levels ranging from 97% to 100% for languages that are linguistically similar. The proposed LID model exhibits a high degree of extensibility to additional languages and demonstrates a strong resistance to noise, achieving 91.2% accuracy in a noisy setting when applied to a European Language (EU) dataset.Comment: Accepted for publication in Natural Language Engineerin

Management Outcomes of Large Renal Angiomyolipoma Presenting with Wunderlich Syndrome—Experience from a Tertiary Center

Renal angiomyolipoma is an uncommon, benign-mixed mesenchymal tumor consisting of thick-walled blood vessels, smooth muscles, and mature adipose tissues. Twenty percent of these tumors are associated with tuberous sclerosis. Wunderlich syndrome (WS), an acute nontraumatic spontaneous perirenal hemorrhage, can be a presentation of large angiomyolipoma. This study evaluated the presentation, management, and complications of renal angiomyolipoma with WS in eight patients who presented to the emergency department between January 2019 and December 2021. The presenting symptoms included flank pain, palpable mass, hematuria, and bleeding in the perinephric space on computerized tomography. Demographic data, symptoms at presentation, comorbidities, hemodynamic parameters, the association with tuberous sclerosis, transfusion requirements, need for angioembolization, surgical management, Clavien–Dindo complication, duration of hospital stay, and 30-day readmission rates were evaluated. The mean age of presentation was 38 years. Of the eight patients, five (62.5%) were females and 3(37.5%) were males. Two (25%) patients had tuberous sclerosis with angiomyolipoma, and three (37.5%) patients presented with hypotension. The mean packed cell transfusion was three units, and the mean tumor size was 7.85 cm (3.5–25 cm). Three of them (37.5%) required emergency angioembolization to prevent exsanguination. Embolization was unsuccessful in one patient (33%) who underwent emergency open partial nephrectomy, and one (33%) patient developed post-embolization syndrome. A total of six patients underwent elective surgery—four underwent partial nephrectomy (laparoscopic - 1, robotic - 1, open - 2) and two underwent open nephrectomy. Three patients encountered Clavien–Dindo complications (Grade 1, n = 2 and IIIA, n = 2). WS is a rare, life-threatening complication in patients with large angiomyolipoma. Judicious optimization, angioembolization, and prompt surgical intervention will help deliver better outcomes

Certified Organization, Volume3, Special Issue 6

ABSTRACT: This paper illustrates the designing of microstrip patch antenna utilizing defected ground structure. The major purpose of designing such kind of antenna is to attain multiband purpose which is vital for requirement of technology nowadays. Initiation of such kind of antenna with imperfect structure of ground increases the antenna functioning. In this case the ground element of the recommended antenna is regarded as defected ground structure (DGS). Moreover the optimization of this kind of antenna is made so as to achieve a return loss of -10db. Furthermore in comparison to simple ground, the recommended design augments the bandwidth and develops the input return loss of the antenna. The antenna design parameters and performances have been studied by means of simulations. The substrate utilized behind designing is of glass with a dielectric constant of 2.2. Moreover the design invariants of antenna consist of single layer thickness of 2mm as well as operating frequency of 4 GHz. The design was optimized so that we can get the finest probable effect. To conclude the microstrip antenna without DGS effects in narrow bandwidth with high return loss. In contrast, microstrip antenna with DGS offers higher operating bandwidth with less return loss

Certified Organization, Volume3, Special Issue 6

ABSTRACT: In this paper a new mushroom like electromagnetic band gap arrangement for development in antenna parameters is represented. The represented arrangement also gives an extra degree of liberty to regulate the band gap position, which is useful to design a new reconfigurable multiband EBG construction. The major purpose behind utilizing EBG structures in Microstrip Patch Antenna is to attain enhanced gain, effectiveness and isolations amongst array elements by restraint of surface wave modes.The major concept illustrated in this paper is by drawing numerous correct shapes in the metal surface of the mushroom-like compact EBG cell so as to initiate stop band in electromagnetic band gap arrangement. EBG structures includes two chief configurations, first EBG substrate and second EBG superstrate. In first case, the patch of antenna is enclosed with EBG arrangement that restrain the propagation of surface wave and in second case, layer of EBG structure that call EBG superstrate or metamaterial superstrate set beyond the patch of antenna. Simulated consequences authenticate the development in performance of the antenna array compared to the array antenna without EBG. From the simulated effects it is observable that radiation patterns are unaffected by EBG arrangements that are on the feedline and other antenna functioning parameters are developed by utilizing antenna with EBG arrangements. Ultimately EBG Patterns insertion in Microstrip Antenna increases the bandwidth of the antenna by placing the feedline below the center of the patch.

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Fuzzy preference ordering of interval numbers in decision problems

This text studies different real decision situations where problems are defined in inexact environment. It presents the latest research in fuzzy preference ordering of interval numbers and modeling of interval decision problems

Certified Organization, Volume3, Special Issue 6

ABSTRACT: The paper represents a circular patch microstrip antenna functioning in a single band of frequency 10GHz. Moreover it shows the steps in details of designing the circular patch microstrip antenna along with its simulated product. From the outcomes, technique of the fabricated mobile antenna is established to have a good performance. The recommended Circular patch microstrip array antenna is essentially a phased array comprising of "n" elements (circular patch antennas) placed in a rectangular grid. The dimension of every element is decided by the operating frequency. The incident wave from satellite reaches at the plane of the antenna with identical phase across the surface of the array. Each and every "n" element achieves a little amount of power in phase with the others. Feed networks link every element to the microstrip lines with an identical length. Therefore the signals arriving at the circular patches are all joined in phase and the voltages combine together

Certified Organization, Volume3, Special Issue 6

ABSTRACT: A novel idea for improvement of bandwidth in microstrip antenna is explained in this paper. The initiation of E-shaped microstrip patch antenna enhances the bandwidth by 13% in comparison to rectangular antenna of 3.6% at 8-9GHz frequency. The recommended antenna offers a significant amount of return loss i.e. S 11 characteristics and impedance performance. The design constant of antenna comprises single layer thickness of 2mm along with functioning frequency of 2.5 GHz. The design was optimized to attain the excellent probable outcome. The positive features of choosing E-shape antenna from other antennas is because of its low volume, low profile planar configuration, easiness in mounting, light weight and less fabrication cost. The main functions of this antenna incorporate remote sensing, biomedical application, mobile radio satellite and wireless communication. To conclude, the functioning of the designed antenna was examined in term of gain, return loss, VSWR, and radiation pattern