Brouhaha: multi-task training for voice activity detection, speech-to-noise ratio, and C50 room acoustics estimation

Most automatic speech processing systems are sensitive to the acoustic environment, with degraded performance when applied to noisy or reverberant speech. But how can one tell whether speech is noisy or reverberant? We propose Brouhaha, a pipeline to simulate audio segments recorded in noisy and reverberant conditions. We then use the simulated audio to jointly train the Brouhaha model for voice activity detection, signal-to-noise ratio estimation, and C50 room acoustics prediction. We show how the predicted SNR and C50 values can be used to investigate and help diagnose errors made by automatic speech processing tools (such as pyannote.audio for speaker diarization or OpenAI's Whisper for automatic speech recognition). Both our pipeline and a pretrained model are open source and shared with the speech community

Exercise therapy for chronic symptomatic peripheral artery disease:A clinical consensus document of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Aorta and Peripheral Vascular Diseases in collaboration with the European Society of Vascular Medicine and the European Society for Vascular Surgery

All guidelines worldwide strongly recommend exercise as a pillar in the management of patients affected by lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD). Exercise therapy in this setting presents different modalities, and a structured programme provides optimal results. This clinical consensus paper is intended to promote and assist the set up of comprehensive exercise programmes and best advice for patients with symptomatic chronic PAD. Different exercise training protocols specific for patients with PAD are presented. Data on patient assessment and outcome measures are described based on the current best evidence. The document ends by highlighting supervised exercise programme access disparities across Europe and the evidence gaps requiring further research.</p

Exercise therapy for chronic symptomatic peripheral artery disease:A clinical consensus document of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Aorta and Peripheral Vascular Diseases in collaboration with the European Society of Vascular Medicine and the European Society for Vascular Surgery

All guidelines worldwide strongly recommend exercise as a pillar in the management of patients affected by lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD). Exercise therapy in this setting presents different modalities, and a structured programme provides optimal results. This clinical consensus paper is intended to promote and assist the set up of comprehensive exercise programmes and best advice for patients with symptomatic chronic PAD. Different exercise training protocols specific for patients with PAD are presented. Data on patient assessment and outcome measures are described based on the current best evidence. The document ends by highlighting supervised exercise programme access disparities across Europe and the evidence gaps requiring further research.</p

Exercise therapy for chronic symptomatic peripheral artery disease

Summary: All guidelines worldwide strongly recommend exercise as a pillar in the management of patients affected by lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD). Exercise therapy in this setting presents different modalities, and a structured programme provides optimal results. This clinical consensus paper is intended to promote and assist the set up of comprehensive exercise programmes and best advice for patients with symptomatic chronic PAD. Different exercise training protocols specific for patients with PAD are presented. Data on patient assessment and outcome measures are described based on the current best evidence. The document ends by highlighting supervised exercise programme access disparities across Europe and the evidence gaps requiring further research

Le difficile ajustement des périmètres métropolitains

International audienceLes périmètres métropolitains s’affirment en Europe comme de nouveaux découpages de référence : d’un côté, de nouvelles mailles statistiques avec les Aires urbaines fonctionnelles, de l’autre, des régions métropolitaines institutionnelles dotées de pouvoirs accrus issues des réformes territoriales menées dans de nombreux pays. Au-delà des faibles recouvrements entre leurs périmètres, les réformes métropolitaines n’affectent que partiellement l’action de la politique de cohésion

Pore water pressure evolution below a freezing front under saturated conditions: Large-scale laboratory experiment and numerical investigation

(IF 2.74; Q1)International audienceSubpermafrost aquifer hydrodynamics is generally poorly known due to monitoring technology issues. The few available data show that this aquifer is confined below continuous permafrost due to ice expansion. We conducted a 2 m × 1 m × 1 m sand box experiment under controlled conditions in a cold room to (1) evaluate the confinement of the unfrozen part of a saturated porous medium below a propagating freezing/thawing front, (2) assess the associated uplift of the soil surface, and therefore (3) quantify how the ice expansion translates into frost heave and excess pore-water pressure in the unfrozen part below the freezing soil. Pore water pressure, soil temperature and soil heave were monitored inside the sand box during a 70-day freeze-thaw cycle. A transient fully coupled heat transport and water flow model (called Ginette) was developed to reproduce the freeze-thaw experiment numerically. It takes into account excess pore-water pressure related to pore water phase changes and uses a simple hydro-mechanical term based on the storage coefficient to estimate soil heave. Fairly good agreement was obtained between measured and simulated pressure heads in the unfrozen part below the freezing front over time. Both experimental and numerical approaches show that the ice expansion is translated into excess pore-water pressure (maximum pore water pressure: 5.5 m) and frost heave (2.2 cm)

Experimental and numerical modeling studies of pore water pressure variations in Subpermafrost groundwater

International audienceDevelopment and degradation of permafrost di-rectly affect numerous hydrogeological processes such as thermal regime, exchange between river and groundwater, groundwater flows patterns and groundwater recharge (Michel, 1994).Groundwater in permafrost area is subdivided in-to two zones: suprapermafrost and subpermafrost which are separated by permafrost. As a result of the volumetric expansion of water upon freezing and as-suming ice lenses and frost heave do not form in a saturated aquifer, the progressive formation of per-mafrost leads to the pressurization of the subperma-frost groundwater (Wang, 2006). Therefore disap-pearance or aggradation of permafrost modifies the confined or unconfined state of subpermafrost groundwater. Our study focuses on modifications of pore water pressures of subpermafrost groundwater which could appear during thawing and freezing of soil. Numerical simulation allows elucidation of some of these processes

Pore water pressure variations in Subpermafrost groundwater : Numerical modeling compared with experimental modeling

International audienceDevelopment and degradation of permafrost directly affect numerous hydrogeological processes such as thermal regime, exchange between river and groundwater, groundwater flows patterns and groundwater recharge (Michel, 1994). Groundwater in permafrost area is subdivided into two zones: suprapermafrost and subpermafrost which are separated by permafrost. As a result of the volumetric expansion of water upon freezing and assuming ice lenses and frost heave do not form freezing in a saturated aquifer, the progressive formation of permafrost leads to the pressurization of the subpermafrost groundwater (Wang, 2006). Therefore disappearance or aggradation of permafrost modifies the confined or unconfined state of subpermafrost groundwater. Our study focuses on modifications of pore water pressure of subpermafrost groundwater which could appear during thawing and freezing of soil. Numerical simulation allows elucidation of some of these processes. Our numerical model accounts for phase changes for coupled heat transport and variably saturated flow involving cycles of freezing and thawing. The flow model is a combination of a one-dimensional channel flow model which uses Manning–Strickler equation and a two-dimensional vertically groundwater flow model using Richards equation. Numerical simulation of heat transport consisted in a two dimensional model accounting for the effects of latent heat of phase change of water associated with melting/freezing cycles which incorporated the advection-diffusion equation describing heat-transfer in porous media. The change of hydraulic conductivity and thermal conductivity are considered by our numerical model. The model was evaluated by comparing predictions with data from laboratory freezing experiments. Experimental design was undertaken at the Laboratory M2C (Univesité de Caen-Basse Normandie, CNRS, France). The device consisted of a Plexiglas box insulated on all sides except on the top. Precipitation and ambient temperature are imposed. The Plexiglas box is filled with glass beads of which hydraulics and thermal parameters are known. All parameters required for our numerical model are controlled and continuous monitoring of soil temperatures and pore water pressure are reported. Our results of experimental model allow us to test the relevance of processes described by our numerical simulation and to quantify the impact of permafrost on pore water pressure of subpermafrost groundwater during a cycle of freezing and thawing. Michel, Frederick A. and Van Everdingen, Robert O. 1994. Changes in hydrogeologic regimes in permafrost regions due to climatic change

Experimental and numerical assessment of transient stream-aquifer exchange during disconnection

International audienceUnderstanding the state of connection processes of stream-aquifer systems is of great interest for water resources management, particularly in semi-arid regions and where groundwater is extracted in the vicinity of a river bank. Here we present a combined experimental-numerical study to explain physical processes involved in disconnected stream-aquifer systems. A stream-aquifer sand box was built to measure the infiltration rate through the stream bed during aquifer drainage. The pressures in the saturated zone of the aquifer and the infiltration rate were measured in order to quantify the fluid flow in this system. The transient transitional stage between connected and disconnected flow regimes, which was obtained experimentally, is characterised by a maximum infiltration rate across the stream bed before a decrease towards a constant value. This behaviour is analysed by means of transient numerical simulations using relevant hydrodynamic parameters. The importance of the drainage kinematics and unsaturated zone parameters for the temporal variation of the infiltration rate is demonstrated. The possible occurrence of a maximum infiltration rate value during the transitional stage is characterised into a general view of the stream-aquifer disconnection with direct implications for pumping near a stream