Evaluations on underdetermined blind source separation in adverse environments using time-frequency masking

The successful implementation of speech processing systems in the real world depends on its ability to handle adverse acoustic conditions with undesirable factors such as room reverberation and background noise. In this study, an extension to the established multiple sensors degenerate unmixing estimation technique (MENUET) algorithm for blind source separation is proposed based on the fuzzy c-means clustering to yield improvements in separation ability for underdetermined situations using a nonlinear microphone array. However, rather than test the blind source separation ability solely on reverberant conditions, this paper extends this to include a variety of simulated and real-world noisy environments. Results reported encouraging separation ability and improved perceptual quality of the separated sources for such adverse conditions. Not only does this establish this proposed methodology as a credible improvement to the system, but also implies further applicability in areas such as noise suppression in adverse acoustic environments

Third Report on Chicken Genes and Chromosomes 2015

Following on from the First Report on Chicken Genes and Chromosomes [Schmid et al., 2000] and the Second Report in 2005 [Schmid et al., 2005], we are pleased to publish this long-awaited Third Report on the latest developments in chicken genomics. The First Report highlighted the availability of genetic and physical maps, while the Second Report was published as the chicken genome sequence was released. This report comes at a time of huge technological advances (particularly in sequencing methodologies) which have allowed us to examine the chicken genome in detail not possible until now. This has also heralded an explosion in avian genomics, with the current availability of more than 48 bird genomes [Zhang G et al., 2014b; Eöry et al., 2015], with many more planned

Research on Parents’ Attitude Towards Children Safe Transportation. The Cross-Sectional Survey Method

Motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of death and injuries among children of different age worldwide, though many of these incidents are preventable. Buckling young children in age- and size-appropriate car seats, booster seats, using seat belts and also fixing them in appropriate position can lead to a significant reduction of serious and fatal injuries. The key factors simultaneously influencing restraint use include vehicle type, driver’s gender and age, driver’s belt use, child’s age, the presence of other child or adult passenger etc. Furthermore, time of day and day of week also influence child passenger sitting and his behavior. Cross-sectional studies are observational in nature and are known as descriptive research, so application of the method of cross-sectional analysis allow collecting data from many different individuals at a single point in time and observing variables without influencing them and at the same time to provide understanding parents’ attitude towards children safe transportation

Identifying driving behaviour profiles by using multiple correspondence analysis and cluster analysis

Many studies investigated the relationship between accident risk factors related to driving behaviour (e.g. distraction, aggressive driving) and the involvement in a road accident. However less attention has been given to aspects related to driver insecurity and the effects of the overall driving patterns. The main target of this research were twofold: 1) The identification of driving behaviour profiles taking into account also insecurity. 2) The analysis of the association between the identified profiles and their accident involvement. A survey was undertaken among a sample of Italian drivers to assess driving distraction, aggressiveness, indiscipline and insecurity. The items of the used questionnaire were mostly derived from the literature (e.g. Driver Behaviour Questionnaire). Behavioural tendencies of drivers to distraction, aggressiveness, indiscipline and insecurity were studied through Multiple Correspondence Analysis. By using Cluster Analysis seven groups of drivers with similar behaviours were identified. A significant association between the seven groups and road accident involvement was found. This statistical approach allows the identification of driving behaviour profiles that could be used for driving training purposes. The answers to the questionnaire can for instance highlight an aggressive and/or insecure driving behaviour thus tailoring the theoretical and practical driving exercises to the specific driver needs, especially for novice drivers

A new approach to macroalgal bloom control in eutrophic, shallow-water, coastal areas

In summer 2012, an experiment was conducted in a shallow eutrophic lagoon with poor water exchange to determine the consequences of harvesting algae on the algal mat itself, which was traversed and repeatedly disturbed by large harvester boats. Four areas with high macroalgal density, measuring half a hectare each, were selected. Two were subjected to frequent disturbance of the algal mat and sediment (12 two-hour operations over a 38-day period) and the other two were left undisturbed as control. The following variables were determined: 1) water column physical chemistry and nutrients; 2) redox potential, nutrients and organic load in sediments; 3) C, N and P content of algal thalli; 4) macroalgal biomass. In 2013, a further experiment was conducted on a larger scale. Biomass was estimated in a highdensity mat measuring 235 ha, where macroalgae were harvested and stirred up by four harvesting boats, and in two high-density mats measuring 150 and 120 ha, left undisturbed as control (9.15, 9.92 and 3.68 kg/m2, respectively). In the first experiment, no significant changes were observed in the water column. In sediment the main variation was a significant reduction in labile organic matter in the disturbed areas and a significant increase mainly in refractory organic matter in the undisturbed areas. Biomass showed a significant drastic reduction in disturbed areas and substantial stability in undisturbed areas. In the large-scale experiment, the biomass of the disturbed mat declined by about 63%, only 6.5% of which was due to harvesting. On the other hand, the undisturbed mat with higher density underwent a natural decline in biomass of about 23% and the other increased by about 50%. These results demonstrate that disturbance of high-density mat in shallow water by boats can cause decay of the mat

Procedencia escolar de los aspirantes a la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas y su relación con el rendimiento en los exámenes de admisión

La selección de aspirantes para el ingreso a la carrera de Medicina y otras carreras de las Ciencias de la Salud es un tema de constante actualidad tanto en el ámbito nacional como internacional. La Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo tiene un sistema selectivo a través de exámenes de contenidos del nivel de educación secundaria y ofrece un curso de nivelación de un semestre de duración. Se observa que un alto porcentaje de aspirantes no logran compensar la diferencia existente entre los conocimientos que poseen y los que demandan las carreras ofrecidas, únicamente mediante la preparación individual y la preparación que brinda la Facultad. El propósito de este estudio fue el de caracterizar a los aspirantes a las carreras de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, de acuerdo a los establecimientos de educación secundaria de procedencia, realizando un estudio retrospectivo de cinco años, sobre la base de datos de aspirantes a las tres carreras de la Facultad, clasificándolos según dicha procedencia y relacionando esa característica con su rendimiento en los exámenes de admisión. La mayoría de los aspirantes a las carreras de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas proviene de establecimientos oficiales, seguido por establecimientos privados y en tercer lugar por establecimientos dependientes de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. El rendimiento en los exámenes de los aspirantes a Enfermería y Tecnicaturas fue independiente a la modalidad de la escuela secundaria. Para ingresar a la carrera de Medicina la modalidad Ciencias Naturales favorece el rendimiento en los exámenes. Del mismo modo, provenir de un colegio de la Universidad o de una escuela privada otorga mayores posibilidades de éxito. La Facultad de Ciencias Médicas realiza esfuerzos constantes, a través de la información sobre los requisitos de admisión y de su oferta de cursos de nivelación para lograr que los aspirantes lleguen con mejor preparación a las instancias de evaluación. Sin embargo, las características relacionadas con la formación previa de los aspirantes deben ser consideradas como factores vinculantes con sus posibilidades de ingresar.The selection of candidates for admission to Medical and other careers of Health Sciences is a constant topic of today both nationally and internationally. The Faculty of Medical Sciences of the National University of Cuyo has a selective system by examination of contents of secondary education and offers a leveling course of one semester. It is observed that a high percentage of applicants fail to offset the difference between the knowledge possessed and offered claiming careers, only using coaching and preparation offered by the Faculty . The purpose of this study was to characterize the applicants to careers in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, according to secondary education establishments of origin, making a five-year retrospective study, based on data of applicants, classified according to this sourceand relating this feature to their performance in the admission exams. Most aspiring to careers in the Faculty of Medical Sciences comes from official establishments, followed by private and third by the National University of Cuyo Schools. The test performance of applicants was independent in nursing and technical applicants to high school mode. For Medical Science mode helps performance on tests. Similarly come from a school of the University or a private school gives greater chance of entering. The Faculty of Medical Sciences made constant efforts through information about admission requirements and its offer remedial courses to ensure that applicants come with better preparation to evaluation instances. However, the features associated with prior training applicants must be regarded as binding factors with their chances of admission.Fil: López Vernengo, A. B.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias MédicasFil: Branzello, E. E.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias MédicasFil: Mampel, A.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias MédicasFil: Persia, S. I.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias MédicasFil: Baroni, A. E.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias MédicasFil: Pizarro, M.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias MédicasFil: Rüttler, María. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médica

An exploratory study on the use of information sources by consumers to select Australian regional travel agencies

[Abstract]: This research investigates the information sources consumers used to select regional travel agencies to make their travel arrangements. The research design involves two stages, in-depth interviews with 13 participants and a mail-out survey of 400. The in-depth interviews highlighted the need to remove three particular information sources (travel guidebooks, travel or automotive clubs and local tourist offices) for inclusion in the mail-out survey and replaced with two other information sources (television lifestyle programs and travel consultants) worthy of investigation. The mail-out survey revealed that personal experience was the most important information source used in the selection of a regional travel agency whilst yellow pages were identified as the least influential. The findings highlighted the relative importance of the 11 information sources investigated and also suggested that informal sources were more important than formal sources when consumers search for information sources to assist them with their selection of the travel agencies to patronise

Investigation of accidents involving powered two wheelers and bicycles. A European in-depth study

Introduction: The number of road fatalities have been falling throughout the European Union (EU) over the past 20 years and most Member States have achieved an overall reduction. Research has mainly focused on protecting car occupants, with car occupant fatalities reducing significantly. However, recently there has been a plateauing in fatalities amongst ‘Vulnerable Road Users’ (VRUs), and in 2016 accidents involving VRUs accounted for nearly half of all EU road deaths. Method: The SaferWheels study collected in-depth data on 500 accidents involving Powered Two-Wheelers (PTWs) and bicycles across six European countries. A standard in-depth accident investigation methodology was used by each team. The Driver Reliability and Error Analysis Method (DREAM) was used to systematically classify accident causation factors. Results: The most common causal factors related to errors in observation by the PTW/bicycle rider or the driver of the other vehicle, typically called ‘looked but failed to see’ accidents. Common scenarios involved the other vehicle turning or crossing in front of the PTW/bicycle. A quarter of serious or fatal injuries to PTW riders occurred in accidents where the rider lost control with no other vehicle involvement. Conclusions: Highly detailed data have been collected for 500 accidents involving PTWs or bicycles in the EU. These data can be further analyzed by researchers on a case-study basis to gain detailed insights on such accidents. Preliminary analysis suggests that ‘looked but failed to see’ remains a common cause, and in many cases the actions of the other vehicle were the critical factor, though PTW rider speed or inexperience played a role in some cases. Practical Applications: The collected data can be analyzed to better understand the characteristics and causes of accidents involving PTWs and bicycles in the EU. The results can be used to develop policies aimed at reducing road deaths and injuries to VRUs