Bio-inspired broad-class phonetic labelling

Recent studies have shown that the correct labeling of phonetic classes may help current Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) when combined with classical parsing automata based on Hidden Markov Models (HMM).Through the present paper a method for Phonetic Class Labeling (PCL) based on bio-inspired speech processing is described. The methodology is based in the automatic detection of formants and formant trajectories after a careful separation of the vocal and glottal components of speech and in the operation of CF (Characteristic Frequency) neurons in the cochlear nucleus and cortical complex of the human auditory apparatus. Examples of phonetic class labeling are given and the applicability of the method to Speech Processing is discussed

"Fat but powerful'' paradox: association of muscle power and adiposity markers with all-cause mortality in older adults from the EXERNET multicentre study

Objectives: To assess the influence of muscle power and adiposity on all-cause mortality risk and to evaluate the fat but powerful'' (F+P) (or fat but fit'') paradox in older adults. Methods: A total of 2563 older adults (65 €''91 years old) from the EXERNET multicentre study were included. Adiposity (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, body fat percentage (BF%) and fat index), allometric and relative power (sit-to-stand muscle power test) and various covariates (age, sex, hypertension, smoking status and walking and sitting times per day) were registered at baseline. All-cause mortality was recorded during a median follow-up of 8.9 years. Participants were classified into four groups: lean and powerful (L+P), F+P, lean but weak and fat and weak (F+W). Cox proportional hazard regression models and adjusted HRs were calculated. Results: According to BMI and waist circumference, all-cause mortality risk was reduced in the F+P (HR=0.55 and 0.63, p=0.044 and 0.049, respectively) and L+P (HR=0.57 and 0.58, p=0.043 and 0.025, respectively) groups. According to BF%, all-cause mortality decreased in the L+P group (HR=0.53; p=0.021), and a trend for a reduction was reported in the F+P group (HR=0.57; p=0.060). According to fat index, a survival benefit was only noted in the L+P group (HR=0.50; p=0.049). Higher levels of relative power reduced all-cause mortality risk among older people (HR=0.63 and 0.53, p=0.006 and 0.011, respectively). Conclusion: Powerful older people exhibited a reduced 9-year all-cause mortality regardless of BMI, waist circumference and BF%. Obesity according to fat index blunted the survival benefits of being powerful

Experimental validation of gallium production and isotope-dependent positron range correction in PET

Abstract Positron range (PR) is one of the important factors that limit the spatial resolution of positron emission tomography (PET) preclinical images. Its blurring effect can be corrected to a large extent if the appropriate method is used during the image reconstruction. Nevertheless, this correction requires an accurate modelling of the PR for the particular radionuclide and materials in the sample under study. In this work we investigate PET imaging with 68Ga and 66Ga radioisotopes, which have a large PR and are being used in many preclinical and clinical PET studies. We produced a 68Ga and 66Ga phantom on a natural zinc target through (p,n) reactions using the 9-MeV proton beam delivered by the 5-MV CMAM tandetron accelerator. The phantom was imaged in an ARGUS small animal PET/CT scanner and reconstructed with a fully 3D iterative algorithm, with and without PR corrections. The reconstructed images at different time frames show significant improvement in spatial resolution when the appropriate PR is applied for each frame, by taking into account the relative amount of each isotope in the sample. With these results we validate our previously proposed PR correction method for isotopes with large PR. Additionally, we explore the feasibility of PET imaging with 68Ga and 66Ga radioisotopes in proton therapy.We acknowledge support from the Spanish MINECO through projects FPA2010-17142, FPA2013-41267-P, CSD-2007-00042 (CPAN), and the RTC-2015-3772-1 grant. We also acknowledge support from Comunidad de Madrid via the TOPUS S2013/MIT-3024 project

Heterogeneous Delays in Neural Networks

We investigate heterogeneous coupling delays in complex networks of excitable elements described by the FitzHugh-Nagumo model. The effects of discrete as well as of uni- and bimodal continuous distributions are studied with a focus on different topologies, i.e., regular, small-world, and random networks. In the case of two discrete delay times resonance effects play a major role: Depending on the ratio of the delay times, various characteristic spiking scenarios, such as coherent or asynchronous spiking, arise. For continuous delay distributions different dynamical patterns emerge depending on the width of the distribution. For small distribution widths, we find highly synchronized spiking, while for intermediate widths only spiking with low degree of synchrony persists, which is associated with traveling disruptions, partial amplitude death, or subnetwork synchronization, depending sensitively on the network topology. If the inhomogeneity of the coupling delays becomes too large, global amplitude death is induced

Caracterización acústica de productos reciclados a partir del "FLUFF" procedente del triturado de NFUS

[EN] In this work, we show the obtained results when characterizing tiles for sound insulation, elaborated by means of Fluff obtained from crushed out of life tires. The acoustic study has been carried out by means of an impedance tube where the coefficient of absorption and the acoustic impedance of different samples are obtained.[ES] En este trabajo se muestran los resultados obtenidos al caracterizar acústicamente losetas para aislamiento acústico, elaboradas mediante Fluff proveniente del triturado de NFUs (Neumáticos Fuera de Uso). El estudio acústico se ha llevado a cabo mediante un tubo de impedancia donde se obtienen el coeficiente de absorción y la impedancia acústica de diferentes muestras.Nadal Gisbert, AV.; Maderuelo, R.; Crespo Amorós, JE.; Martín, M.; Parres, F.; Pérez, L. (2009). Caracterización acústica de productos reciclados a partir del "FLUFF" procedente del triturado de NFUS. Sociedad Española de Acústica (SEA). http://hdl.handle.net/10251/73635

D-concurrence bounds for pair coherent states

The pair coherent state is a state of a two-mode radiation field which is known as a state with non-Gaussian wave function. In this paper, the upper and lower bounds for D-concurrence (a new entanglement measure) have been studied over this state and calculated.Comment: 11 page

νd→μ−Δ++n\nu d \to \mu^- \Delta^{++} n Reaction and Axial Vector N−ΔN-\Delta Coupling

The reaction $\nu d \to \mu^- \Delta^{++} n$ is studied in the region of low $q^2$ to investigate the effect of deuteron structure and width of the $\Delta$ resonance on the differential cross section. The results are used to extract the axial vector $N-\Delta$ coupling $C^{A}_5$ from the experimental data on this reaction. The possibility to determine this coupling from electroweak interaction experiments with high intensity electron accelerators is discussed.Comment: 14 pages, REVTEX, 5 figure

Homozygous deletions localize novel tumor suppressor genes in B-cell lymphomas

Integrative genomic and gene-expression analyses have identified amplified oncogenes in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL), but the capability of such technologies to localize tumor suppressor genes within homozygous deletions remains unexplored. Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and gene-expression microarray analysis of 48 cell lines derived from patients with different B-NHLs delineated 20 homozygous deletions at 7 chromosome areas, all of which contained tumor suppressor gene targets. Further investigation revealed that only a fraction of primary biopsies presented inactivation of these genes by point mutation or intragenic deletion, but instead some of them were frequently silenced by epigenetic mechanisms. Notably, the pattern of genetic and epigenetic inactivation differed among B-NHL subtypes. Thus, the P53-inducible PIG7/LITAF was silenced by homozygous deletion in primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma and by promoter hypermethylation in germinal center lymphoma, the proapoptotic BIM gene presented homozygous deletion in mantle cell lymphoma and promoter hypermethylation in Burkitt lymphoma, the proapoptotic BH3-only NOXA was mutated and preferentially silenced in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and INK4c/P18 was silenced by biallelic mutation in mantle-cell lymphoma. Our microarray strategy has identified novel candidate tumor suppressor genes inactivated by genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that substantially vary among the B-NHL subtypes