1,416 research outputs found
DARTS-ASR: Differentiable Architecture Search for Multilingual Speech Recognition and Adaptation
In previous works, only parameter weights of ASR models are optimized under
fixed-topology architecture. However, the design of successful model
architecture has always relied on human experience and intuition. Besides, many
hyperparameters related to model architecture need to be manually tuned.
Therefore in this paper, we propose an ASR approach with efficient
gradient-based architecture search, DARTS-ASR. In order to examine the
generalizability of DARTS-ASR, we apply our approach not only on many languages
to perform monolingual ASR, but also on a multilingual ASR setting. Following
previous works, we conducted experiments on a multilingual dataset, IARPA
BABEL. The experiment results show that our approach outperformed the baseline
fixed-topology architecture by 10.2% and 10.0% relative reduction on character
error rates under monolingual and multilingual ASR settings respectively.
Furthermore, we perform some analysis on the searched architectures by
DARTS-ASR.Comment: Accepted at INTERSPEECH 202
Bacterial Leaf Nodule Symbiosis in Flowering Plants
Bacterial leaf nodule symbiosis within angiosperms is a less known phenomenon compared to the well-documented legume root-Rhizobium symbiosis and certainly deserved much more scientific attention. Leaf nodules associated with bacteria was first recognized in Pavetta (Rubiaceae) in early twentieth century. Further survey added other members of Rubiaceae, Primulaceae, Dioscoreaceae, and Styracaceae to the short list of plants with specialized bacteria-containing structure in aerial part of plants. The actual role of the bacteria has been questioned by several researchers, mostly due to the problems associated with the identities of these unculturable bacteria. Many progresses have been achieved provided with molecular phylogenetic analysis and also genomic data of the bacteria. Recent evidence from genomic sequences showed the symbiotic bacteria may serve as a defense role in Primulaceae and Rubiaceae, and may increase stress tolerance in Dioscoreaceae. In this article, we reviewed the current knowledge of the bacterial leaf nodule symbiosis in angiosperm. Future research and applications were also discussed
A Story of Innovation: The Alexian Village Health Center, Milwaukee
This monograph is the result of a study at the Alexian Village of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a continuing care retirement community. It shows how the quality of its Health Center residents\u27 lives were improved through manipulation of the physical environment. This monograph set out to achieve four major goals: 1) to show the relationships between organizational, social, and environmental factors; 2) to demonstrate the role of the physical environment as a therapeutic tool; 3) to demonstrate the importance of the preparatory process in creating a facility for older persons; 4) to demonstrate the rewards of ongoing analysis and evaluation.https://dc.uwm.edu/caupr_mono/1018/thumbnail.jp
Q-enhanced fold-and-bond MEMS inductors
This work presents a novel coil fabrication technology
to enhance quality factor (Q factor) of microfabricated inductors
for implanted medical wireless sensing and data/power transfer
applications. Using parylene as a flexible thin-film device
substrate, a post-microfabrication substrate folding-and-bonding
method is developed to effectively increase the metal thickness of
the surface-micromachined inductors, resulting in their lower
self-resistance so their higher quality factor. One-fold-and-bond
coils are successfully demonstrated as an example to verify the
feasibility of the fabrication technology with measurement results
in good agreements with device simulation. Depending on target
specifications, multiple substrate folding-and-bonding can be
extensively implemented to facilitate further improved electrical
characteristics of the coils from single fabrication batch. Such Q-enhanced
inductors can be broadly utilized with great potentials
in flexible integrated wireless devices/systems for intraocular
prostheses and other biomedical implants
The use of willingness to pay experiments : estimating demand for piped water connections in Sri Lanka
The authors show how willingness to pay surveys can be used to gauge household demand for improved network water and sanitation services. They do this by presenting a case-study from Sri Lanka, where they surveyed approximately 1,800 households in 2003. Using multivariate regression, they show that a complex combination of factors drives demand for service improvements. While poverty and costs are found to be key determinants of demand, the authors also find that location, self-provision, and perceptions matter as well, and that subsets of these factors matter differently for subsamples of the population. To evaluate the policy implications of the demand analysis, they use the model to estimate uptake rates of improved service under various scenarios-demand in subgroups, the institutional decision to rely on private sector provision, and various financial incentives targeted to the poor. The simulations show that in this particular environment in Sri Lanka, demand for piped water services is low, and that it is unlikely that under the present circumstances the goal of nearly universal piped water coverage is going to be achieved. Policy instruments, such as subsidization of connection fees, could be used to increase demand for piped water, but it is unclear whether the benefits of the use of such policies would outweigh the costs.Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Water Use,Small Area Estimation Poverty Mapping,Urban Water Supply and Sanitation
Unpackaging demand for water service quality : evidence from conjoint surveys in Sri Lanka
In the early 2000s, the Government of Sri Lanka considered engaging private sector operators to manage water and sewerage services in two separate service areas: one in the town of Negombo (north of Colombo), and one stretching along the coastal strip (south from Colombo) from the towns of Kalutara to Galle. Since then, the government has abandoned the idea of setting up a public-private partnership in these two areas. This paper is part of a series of investigations to determine how these pilot private sector transactions (forming part of the overall water sector reform strategy) could be designed in such a manner that they would benefit the poor. The authors describe the results of a conjoint survey evaluating the factors that drive customer demand for alternative water supply and sanitation services in Sri Lanka. They show how conjoint surveys can be used to unpackage household demand for attributes of urban services and improve the design of infrastructure policies. They present conjoint surveys as a tool for field experiments and a source of valuable empirical data. In the study of three coastal towns in southwestern Sri Lanka the conjoint survey allows the authors to compare household preferences for four water supply attributes-price, quantity, safety, and reliability. They examine subpopulations of different income levels to determine if demand is heterogeneous. The case study suggests that households care about service quality (not just price). In general, the authors find that households have diverse preferences in terms of quantity, safety, and service options, but not with regard to hours of supply. In particular, they find that the poor have lower ability to trade off income for services, a finding that has significant equity implications in terms of allocating scarce public services and achieving universal water access.Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Water and Industry,Economic Theory&Research,Water Use,Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions
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