Audio-Visual Speech Enhancement with Score-Based Generative Models

This paper introduces an audio-visual speech enhancement system that leverages score-based generative models, also known as diffusion models, conditioned on visual information. In particular, we exploit audio-visual embeddings obtained from a self-super\-vised learning model that has been fine-tuned on lipreading. The layer-wise features of its transformer-based encoder are aggregated, time-aligned, and incorporated into the noise conditional score network. Experimental evaluations show that the proposed audio-visual speech enhancement system yields improved speech quality and reduces generative artifacts such as phonetic confusions with respect to the audio-only equivalent. The latter is supported by the word error rate of a downstream automatic speech recognition model, which decreases noticeably, especially at low input signal-to-noise ratios.Comment: Submitted to ITG Conference on Speech Communicatio

Animals in Movies : Solely computer-generated in the future?

In der vorliegenden Bachelorarbeit wird der Frage nachgegangen, ob Tiere im Film schon bald nicht mehr real sondern nur noch vom Computer animiert sein werden. Dabei wird überlegt wie und warum begeistert das Tier im Animations- als auch im Realfilm das Publikum. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wird die Entwicklung vom Real- und Animationsfilm genauer betrachten. Anschließend erfolgte eine Gegenüberstellung der beiden unterschiedlichen Arten von Filmen, in denen Tiere als Protagonisten auftreten, mit einer Untersuchung der Vor- und Nachteile. Hierbei wird die Arbeit und der Aufwand bei der Produktion und die Wirkung auf die Zuschauer betrachtet

Alpha-Synuclein Pathology Coincides With Increased Number of Early Stage Neural Progenitors in the Adult Hippocampus

Alpha-synuclein pathology driven impairment in adult neurogenesis was proposed as a potential cause of, or at least contributor to, memory impairment observed in both patients and animal models of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). Mice overexpressing wild-type alpha-synuclein under the Thy-1 promoter (Thy1-aSyn, line 61) uniquely replicate early cognitive deficits together with multiple other characteristic motor and non-motor symptoms, alpha-synuclein pathology and dopamine loss. Here we report overt intracellular accumulation of phosphorylated alphasynuclein in the hippocampus of these transgenic mice. To test whether this alters adult neurogenesis and total number of mature neurons, we employed immunohistochemistry and an unbiased stereology approach to quantify the distinct neural progenitor cells and neurons in the hippocampal granule cell layer and subgranular zone of 6 (prodromal stage) and 16-month (dopamine loss) old Thy1-aSyn mice. Surprisingly, we observed an increase in the number of early stage, i.e., Pax6 expressing, progenitors whereas the numbers of late stage, i.e., Tbr2 expressing, progenitors and neurons were not altered. Astroglia marker was increased in the hippocampus of transgenic mice, but this was not specific to the regions where adult neurogenesis takes place, arguing against a commitment of additional early stage progenitors to the astroglia lineage. Together, this uncovers a novel aspect of alpha-synuclein pathology in adult neurogenesis. Studying its mechanisms in Thy1-aSyn mice could lead to discovery of effective therapeutic interventions for cognitive dysfunction in PD and DLB

Produção de batata (Solanum tuberosum L.) em diferentes sistemas de manejo orgânico na região metropolitana de Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil.

A cultura da batata (Solanum tuberosum L.) tem grande importância econômica no Paraná, tendo sido este o maior produtor da batata do Brasil. Mudanças de mercado e tecnológicas fizeram com que os produtores saíssem da atividade. A região metropolitana de Curitiba era a responsável por grande parte da produção da chamada “batata-comum”, que estava na mão de agricultores familiares. Ainda, têm aumentado as restrições legais de uso da terra face à demanda crescente por mananciais de água. Com isso, os produtores locais têm necessidade de converter suas áreas para sistemas alternativos de produção, com a eliminação gradativa de insumos químicos. A Agricultura Biodinâmica oferece possibilidades de produção nas condições descritas, mas não existem trabalhos relacionados com a batata neste sistema no Paraná. Diante do exposto, este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar o sistema de manejo biodinâmico em comparação com dois manejos orgânicos na cultura da batata, considerando-se parâmetros de produção, de qualidade e de incidência de doenças, na região de Curitiba. Houve maior severidade da requeima (P=0,13) e reduzido vigor no sistema biodinâmico, mas que não influenciou na produtividade, mostrando ser mais uma opção de produção de batata em regiões de mananciais

The awareness of the scared - context dependent influence of oxytocin on brain function

Oxytocin is both a hormone and a neurotransmitter and has been originally recognized for its role in childbirth and lactation. Later, it became widely known as a "cuddle hormone" that induces trusting behavior towards strangers and reduces social stress and anxiety. Several studies showed that oxytocin influences empathic behavior and has prosocial effects. The anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior insula are brain regions that are active when humans observe fear in others. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether oxytocin administration affects activity in these regions depending on whether a threat is directed at another person (empathy) compared to when the threat is directed at the subject itself (fear). Our findings demonstrate increased anterior cingulate cortex activation after oxytocin administration in the fear, but not in the empathy condition. Furthermore, oxytocin administration was associated with deceased anterior insula activity in the empathy condition. However, our findings do not support the idea that oxytocin generally augments activity in brain regions associated with empathy. Thereby this study supports current research questioning that oxytocin has exclusively prosocial effects on human behavior. Rather, the effect of oxytocin depends on various contextual (e.g. presence of a familiar person) and interindividual (e.g. sex, mental disorder) factors. Therefore, to consider oxytocin an empathy inducing hormone is an oversimplification and future research should focus on factors moderating oxytocin effects

Influence of depression symptoms on serum tumor necrosis factor-α of patients with chronic low back pain

Introduction: Patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP) have high rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders, mainly depression. Recent evidence suggests that depressive symptoms and pain, as interacting factors, have an effect on the circulating levels of inflammatory markers relevant to coronary artery disease. Our previous work showed a higher serum level of an inflammatory marker tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) in patients with cLBP, which did not correlate with intensity of low back pain alone. In the present study we investigated the cross-sectional associations of depressive symptoms, low back pain and their interaction with circulating levels of TNFα. Methods: Each group of 29 patients with cLBP alone or with both cLBP and depression was age-matched and sex-matched with 29 healthy controls. All subjects underwent a blood draw for the assessment of serum TNFα and completed a standardised questionnaire regarding medication, depression scores according to the German version of Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), pain intensity from a visual analogue scale, and back function using the Roland and Morris questionnaire. The correlations between TNFα level and these clinical parameters were analysed. Results: There were no differences in TNFα level between cLBP patients with and without depression. Both cLBP patients with (median = 2.51 pg/ml, P = 0.002) and without (median = 2.58 pg/ml, P = 0.004) depression showed significantly higher TNFα serum levels than healthy controls (median = 0 pg/ml). The pain intensity reported by both patient groups was similar, while the patients with depression had higher CES-D scores (P < 0.001) and worse back function (P < 0.001). The variance analysis showed that the interaction between TNFα level and pain intensity, CES-D scores, sex, body mass index and medication was statistically significant. Conclusions: Depression as a comorbidity to cLBP did not influence the serum TNFα level. It seems that TNFα somehow acts as a mediator in both cLBP and depression, involving similar mechanisms that will be interesting to follow in further studies

Sustainable Cooling - nachhaltige Kühlung bei Hitze

Am Ende dieses Jahrhunderts könnte die globale Erderwärmung 3 °C gegenüber dem Niveau vor der Industrialisierung betragen. Die Risiken für die Gesellschaft infolge der globalen Erderwärmung liegen auf der Hand. Zu erwarten sind gesundheitliche Folgen wie die Zunahme von Herz-Kreislauf-Problemen bis hin zu steigenden Mortalitätsraten genauso wie die Unbewohnbarkeit ganzer Landstriche, darunter viele ärmere Weltregionen. Rund 1 Mrd. Menschen weltweit sind Risiken ausgesetzt, die sich aus dem unzureichenden Zugang zu Kühlung ergeben. Es ist davon auszugehen, dass die Nachfrage nach Kühlung, etwa für Wohn- und Bürogebäude, öffentliche Gebäude, Daten- und Rechenzentren sowie für Lebensmittel und Medikamente, deutlich steigen wird. Bereits heute verursachen konventionelle Kühlgeräte, wie Kühlschränke, Raumklimageräte und Kältemaschinen für die Industrie, 10 % der globalen Treibhausgasemissionen. Wenn weiterhin auf konventionelle Weise gekühlt werden sollte, entstünde ein Teufelskreis, denn die klimabedingte erhöhte Nachfrage nach Kühlung würde zu höheren Treibhausgasemissionen führen. Insbesondere besteht die Gefahr, dass sich die derzeit ca. 2,2 Mrd. Menschen aus der global wachsenden Mittelschicht nur günstige und zumeist weniger energieeffiziente Kühlgeräte leisten können. Innovationen in den Bereichen Technologie, Stadtund Raumplanung sowie Dienstleistung fokussieren auf die Entwicklung effizienter und emissionsarmer Kühlungstechnologien und -konzepte, die Ermöglichung des Zugangs zu diesen Technologien für breite Bevölkerungsschichten sowie die Vermeidung übermäßiger Erhitzung einzelner Gebäude oder ganzer Städte. Als besonders energieeffizient und klimafreundlich gelten Sorptionskältemaschinen für die direkte Kühlung von Gebäuden. Sie können mit Wasser als Kältemittel und mit Solarenergie oder industrieller Abwärme betrieben werden. Die Solarwärme kann z. B. mit thermischen Solarkollektoren erzeugt werden, die an der Fassade von Gebäudehüllen angebracht werden und so zur indirekten Kühlung dieser Gebäude zusätzlich beitragen. Eine klimasensitive Stadt- und Raumplanung kann die Hitzeinselbildung in urbanen Räumen reduzieren, indem sie beispielsweise ausreichend Frischluftkorridore gewährleistet und Begrünungskonzepte vorsieht und umsetzt. Geschäfts- und Finanzierungsmodelle wie Cooling as a Service (CaaS) ermöglichen auch finanzschwächeren Menschen in Schwellen- und Entwicklungsländern den Zugang zu Kühlungsdienstleistungen auf hocheffizientem Technologieniveau

Survey on arterial hypertension management: a report from the ESC Council for Cardiology Practice and the ESC Council on Hypertension

Aims: To explore the management of hypertensive patients by general cardiologists a few months after the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)-European Society of Hypertension (ESH) Guidelines publication. Methods and results: A survey based on a 26-point questionnaire was sent to ∼69 000 worldwide ESC members, a few months after the ESC-ESH Guidelines publication. A total of 1458 responses were collected via a web-based form. Among them, 68% were men, 48% were below 45 years old, and 60% were from Europe. Current guidelines have been read, at least partially, by 92.8%. Measurement of blood pressure (BP) is mostly done using the auscultatory method (58.8%) while unattended BP is rarely performed. Different bladder cuffs are not available for different arm circumferences for 27% of responders. Routine workup in hypertensive patients includes more often 12 leads ECG (97.7%) and echocardiography (79.6%). Only 30.9% of responders systematically assess the cardiovascular risk by the SCORE system and orthostatic hypotension is systematically researched by only 39.1%. Respondents consider that BP target of 140/90 mmHg is achievable in 60-80% of patients and 130/80 mmHg in 40-60%. Guidelines are considered too tight to be achievable by 15.6%, while 77.4% consider they are exactly right. Low patient's compliance, awareness of hypertension (HT) risk, and, at a lower degree, physician inertia, represent the main treatment challenges in reaching BP goals to most respondents, while treatment effectiveness is not in question. The present survey demonstrates specific gaps in HT management that need attention in clinical practice