End-to-End Joint Target and Non-Target Speakers ASR

This paper proposes a novel automatic speech recognition (ASR) system that can transcribe individual speaker's speech while identifying whether they are target or non-target speakers from multi-talker overlapped speech. Target-speaker ASR systems are a promising way to only transcribe a target speaker's speech by enrolling the target speaker's information. However, in conversational ASR applications, transcribing both the target speaker's speech and non-target speakers' ones is often required to understand interactive information. To naturally consider both target and non-target speakers in a single ASR model, our idea is to extend autoregressive modeling-based multi-talker ASR systems to utilize the enrollment speech of the target speaker. Our proposed ASR is performed by recursively generating both textual tokens and tokens that represent target or non-target speakers. Our experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method.Comment: Accepted at Interspeech 202

Targeted single-cell gene induction by optimizing the dually regulated CRE/loxP system by a newly defined heat-shock promoter and the steroid hormone in Arabidopsis thaliana

Multicellular organisms rely on intercellular communication systems to organize their cellular functions. In studies focusing on intercellular communication, the key experimental techniques include the generation of chimeric tissue using transgenic DNA recombination systems represented by the CRE/loxP system. If an experimental system enables the induction of chimeras at highly targeted cell(s), it will facilitate the reproducibility and precision of experiments. However, multiple technical limitations have made this challenging. The stochastic nature of DNA recombination events, especially, hampers reproducible generation of intended chimeric patterns. Infrared laser-evoked gene operator (IR-LEGO), a microscopic system that irradiates targeted cells using an IR laser, can induce heat shock-mediated expression of transgenes, for example, CRE recombinase gene, in the cells. In this study, we developed a method that induces CRE/loxP recombination in the target cell(s) of plant roots and leaves in a highly specific manner. We combined IR-LEGO, an improved heat-shock-specific promoter, and dexamethasone-dependent regulation of CRE. The optimal IR-laser power and irradiation duration were estimated via exhaustive irradiation trials and subsequent statistical modeling. Under optimized conditions, CRE/loxP recombination was efficiently induced without cellular damage. We also found that the induction efficiency varied among tissue types and cellular sizes. The developed method offers an experimental system to generate a precisely designed chimeric tissue, and thus, will be useful for analyzing intercellular communication at high resolution in roots and leaves

グリーンインフラ ト シテノ ヤシキリン 「イグネ」 ノ タメンテキ キノウセイ ニ カンスル ケンキュウ

本研究は，宮城県・岩手県において数百年以上の間，持続的なマネジメントによって維持されてきた屋敷林「居久根（いぐね）」の多面的機能性，特に居久根の植栽構成の工夫と生活文化的価値，防風効果の価値，および鳥類の生息環境としての価値を明らかにした。1）居久根の竹類を除いた樹木構成は針葉樹7割，常緑広葉樹2割，落葉広葉樹1割であった。居久根の北西側に枝葉の細かいスギやアスナロなど常緑針葉樹を多数植栽することで防風効果を高めると同時にこれらの樹種は建築材として活用され，スギ下に植えられたタケ類は防風用として，かつ農業・漁業の道具として活用されていた。潮風に強いヤブツバキやマサキ，湿地帯に適応したハンノキを植栽する工夫がみられた。2）居久根の内外の気象データの解析から，居久根は冬季の季節風を7-9割減速させ，居久根内の母屋に安定した居住環境をもたらしていることを明らかにした。さらに3次元GISとCFD（Computational Fluid Dynamics）による風況解析シミュレーションによって居久根の防風効果と風の流れを可視化することで，減速域が風下側に約100 m以上の距離にまで広がっていることがわかった。3）冬季鳥類の生息環境としての居久根の機能を明らかにするため，水田域内の農地，居久根が含まれる水田域内の農地，丘陵樹林地の異なる3つの環境を対象に調査した。その結果，居久根が含まれる農地で31種が確認され，地点当たりの確認種数は水田域内の農地よりも多く，居久根は樹林内や林縁を好む種の生息場所として機能していた。今日の大災害時代の我が国においてグリーンインフラとしての多面的機能性を有する居久根は，気候変動の緩和と適応や災害に対するレジリエンスをはじめ，屋敷林文化の価値，野生動物の生息場所の提供，故郷の風景の再生や愛郷心に大いに貢献できると考えられる。Homestead trees and hedges, known as “Igune”, have been a feature of the traditional rural landscape in the Miyagi and Iwate prefectures for at least 400 years. We evaluated the green infrastructure value of the multiple benefits provided by Igune. In particular, we concentrated on the cultural and lifestyle values, windbreak effects, and habitat for forest and forest-edge living birds. Our findings show that 1) conifer trees account for about 70% of Igune trees, evergreen broadleaved trees for about 20% and deciduous broadleaved trees for about 10% of all Igune tree types, excluding bamboos. Fine foliaged conifer trees such as Cryptomeria japonica were found to be planted on the northwest side of the Igune to enhance windbreak effects and for use in building materials. Bamboos were also planted to serve as windbreaks under the Cryptomeria japonica and are used for making agricultural and fishery implements. Camellia japonica and Euonymus japonicus are particularly robust against onshore winds, and the wetland-adapted Alnus japonica is a common Igune tree in wetter areas and is planted to improve poor soils. We found that farmers’ wisdom and techniques combine to make the most of species characteristics whilst helping preserve and reinforce traditional lifestyles and cultural values. 2) Igune homestead trees, shrubs and hedgerows provide effective windbreaks : winter wind speeds were found to be reduced by 70-90%, creating a stable and habitable residential area within the bounds of the Igune. Wind dynamics were simulated by three-dimensional GIS and CFD analysis. We found that the reduced wind speed area extended more than 100 m on the leeward side of the Igune. 3) We compared bird species richness, individual abundance and species diversity index among three landscape habitats including open paddy fields, paddy fields where Igune trees and shrubs were present, and forest. These habitat types differed significantly with respect to bird species richness and diversity index. Forest and paddy fields having Igune both had higher species richness than the open paddy fields, but no significant differences in mean bird abundance were found between the habitats. These results suggets that Igune provide habitat for some forest-living birds. The green infrastructure of Igune homestead trees can clearly contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and delivers simultaneous cultural, traditional, and biodiversity co-benefits, which together can support the regeneration of regional landscape identities

Genetic Diversity of the Hemagglutinin Genes of Influenza a Virus in Asian Swine Populations

Swine influenza (SI) is a major respiratory disease of swine; SI is due to the influenza A virus of swine (IAV-S), a highly contagious virus with zoonotic potential. The intensity of IAV-S surveillance varies among countries because it is not a reportable disease and causes limited mortality in swine. Although Asia accounts for half of all pig production worldwide, SI is not well managed in those countries. Rigorously managing SI on pig farms could markedly reduce the economic losses, the likelihood of novel reassortants among IAV-S, and the zoonotic IAV-S infections in humans. Vaccination of pigs is a key control measure for SI, but its efficacy relies on the optimal antigenic matching of vaccine strains with the viral strains circulating in the field. Here, we phylogenetically reviewed the genetic diversity of the hemagglutinin gene among IAVs-S that have circulated in Asia during the last decade. This analysis revealed the existence of country-specific clades in both the H1 and H3 subtypes and cross-border transmission of IAVs-S. Our findings underscore the importance of choosing vaccine antigens for each geographic region according to both genetic and antigenic analyses of the circulating IAV-S to effectively manage SI in Asia