Alternating minimisation for glottal inverse filtering

A new method is proposed for solving the glottal inverse filtering (GIF) problem. The goal of GIF is to separate an acoustical speech signal into two parts: the glottal airflow excitation and the vocal tract filter. To recover such information one has to deal with a blind deconvolution problem. This ill-posed inverse problem is solved under a deterministic setting, considering unknowns on both sides of the underlying operator equation. A stable reconstruction is obtained using a double regularization strategy, alternating between fixing either the glottal source signal or the vocal tract filter. This enables not only splitting the nonlinear and nonconvex problem into two linear and convex problems, but also allows the use of the best parameters and constraints to recover each variable at a time. This new technique, called alternating minimization glottal inverse filtering (AM-GIF), is compared with two other approaches: Markov chain Monte Carlo glottal inverse filtering (MCMC-GIF), and iterative adaptive inverse filtering (IAIF), using synthetic speech signals. The recent MCMC-GIF has good reconstruction quality but high computational cost. The state-of-the-art IAIF method is computationally fast but its accuracy deteriorates, particularly for speech signals of high fundamental frequency (F0). The results show the competitive performance of the new method: With high F0, the reconstruction quality is better than that of IAIF and close to MCMC-GIF while reducing the computational complexity by two orders of magnitude.Peer reviewe

Temperature dependence of eta/s of strongly interacting matter : Effects of the equation of state and the parametric form of (eta/s)(T)

We investigate the temperature dependence of the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio eta/s using a piecewise linear parametrization. To determine the optimal values of the parameters and the associated uncertainties, we perform a global Bayesian model-to-data comparison on Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV and Pb + Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV and 5.02 TeV, using a 2 + 1D hydrodynamical model with the Eskola-KajantieRuuskanen-Tuominen (EKRT) initial state. We provide three new parametrizations of the equation of state (EoS) based on contemporary lattice results and hadron resonance gas, and use them and the widely used s95p parametrization to explore the uncertainty in the analysis due to the choice of the equation of state. We find that eta/s is most constrained in the temperature range T approximate to 150-220 MeV, where, for all EoSs, 0.08 <eta/s <0.23 when taking into account the 90% credible intervals. In this temperature range the EoS parametrization has only a small similar to 10% effect on the favored eta/s value, which is less than the similar to 30% uncertainty of the analysis using a single EoS parametrization. Our parametrization of (eta/s)(T) leads to a slightly larger minimum value of eta/s than the previously used parametrizations. When we constrain our parametrization to mimic the previously used parametrizations, our favored value is reduced, and the difference becomes statistically insignificant.Peer reviewe

Implementation of the sectional aerosol module SALSA2.0 into the PALM model system 6.0 : Model development and first evaluation

Urban pedestrian-level air quality is a result of an interplay between turbulent dispersion conditions, background concentrations, and heterogeneous local emissions of air pollutants and their transformation processes. Still, the complexity of these interactions cannot be resolved by the commonly used air quality models. By embedding the sectional aerosol module SALSA2.0 into the large-eddy simulation model PALM, a novel, high-resolution, urban aerosol modelling framework has been developed. The first model evaluation study on the vertical variation of aerosol number concentration and size distribution in a simple street canyon without vegetation in Cambridge, UK, shows good agreement with measurements, with simulated values mainly within a factor of 2 of observations. Dispersion conditions and local emissions govern the pedestrian-level aerosol number concentrations. Out of different aerosol processes, dry deposition is shown to decrease the total number concentration by over 20 %, while condensation and dissolutional increase the total mass by over 10 %. Following the model development, the application of PALM can be extended to local-and neighbourhood-scale air pollution and aerosol studies that require a detailed solution of the ambient flow field.Peer reviewe

Drug-Eluting Stent Shows Similar Patency Results as Prosthetic Bypass in Patients with Femoropopliteal Occlusion in a Randomized Trial

Background: Claudication and critical limb threatening ischemia are significant causes of mortality in the elderly. The gold standard of superficial femoral artery (SFA) revascularization is thus far considered to be the femoropopliteal bypass. The aim of this study was to compare mid-term patency between drug-eluting stents (DESs) and prosthetic bypass grafts (BSX). Studies have reported comparable results for both the methods. Methods: Forty-six patients with claudication or rest pain due to a 5-25 cm SFA occlusion were randomized between DES and BSX groups. The follow-up period was 24 months, and the primary outcome measure was overall patency. Secondary outcome measures were primary and primary assisted patency, change in ankle-brachial index (ABI), and amputation-free survival. Results: Forty-one patients were eventually analyzed. Six-month secondary patency was 91% (DES) versus 83% (BSX) (P = 0.450). The corresponding numbers at 12 months in the DES and BSX groups were 74% and 80% (P = 0.750), respectively. At 24 months, the respective numbers were 56% and 71% (P = 0.830). There were no statistically significant differences in primary or assisted primary patency at 1, 6, or 12 months. Conclusion: There were no demonstrable differences in patency rates or clinical outcomes such as ABI or major amputations between DES and BSX. Although underpowered, the results suggest noninferiority of the DES compared with prosthetic bypass surgery.Peer reviewe

Improving coarse-textured mineral soils with pulp and paper mill sludges: Functional considerations at laboratory scale

Building up the organic matter content of coarse-textured soils with organic amendments seeks to ameliorate the productivity of these soils, which is limited by plant available water and nutrient supply. Wood fibre-based sludges from the pulp and paper industry have potential for soil conditioning. In this study, the effects of three different pulp and paper mill sludges at application rates of 10 and 20 vol-% on water retention, respiration, and nitrogen (N) dynamics were examined in a series of laboratory studies using coarse field soils. Water retention curves comprising 13 matric potentials revealed that the amendments increased total soil porosity and volumetric water content at matric potentials corresponding to macro- and mesopores size range with pore diameters of >30 μm and 30–0.2 μm, respectively. Volumetric water content at field capacity increased by c. 10–30%, depending on the type (fresh, lime-stabilised and fibre sludge) and application rate of the amendment, with no marked change in the water content at the permanent wilting point. This was reflected as a mean increase of 1.9–3.3 mm in the plant available water content relative to the non-amended soils (17 mm), which corresponds to 19–33 m3 per hectare. At most, an increase of 5.5 mm (55 m3 ha−1) in plant available water was achieved by the fibre sludge amendment at an application rate of 20 vol-%. During a 60-day laboratory incubation, c. 30–40% of the carbon (C) added to soil in the sludge materials was respired as carbon dioxide. Additional N accelerated decomposition without increasing total respired C. Decomposition of the amendments in the soil led to a net N immobilisation of roughly 5–10 mg min-N g−1 added C, which occurred mainly during the first two weeks after soil incorporation. Overall, pulp and paper mill sludge amendments may serve to alleviate water shortages during drought in coarse-textured soils, but may generate a transient plant-microbe competition in N uptake

Biological subtyping of early breast cancer : a study comparing RT-qPCR with immunohistochemistry

The biological subtype of breast cancer influences the selection of systemic therapy. Distinction between luminal A and B cancers depends on consistent assessment of Ki-67, but substantial intra-observer and inter-observer variability exists when immunohistochemistry (IHC) is used. We compared RT-qPCR with IHC in the assessment of Ki-67 and other standard factors used in breast cancer subtyping. RNA was extracted from archival breast tumour tissue of 769 women randomly assigned to the FinHer trial. Cancer ESR1, PGR, ERBB2 and MKI67 mRNA content was quantitated with an RT-qPCR assay. Local pathologists assessed ER, PgR and Ki-67 expression using IHC. HER2 amplification was identified with chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) centrally. The results were correlated with distant disease-free survival (DDFS) and overall survival (OS). qPCR-based and IHC-based assessments of ER and PgR showed good concordance. Both low tumour MKI67 mRNA (RT-qPCR) and Ki-67 protein (IHC) levels were prognostic for favourable DDFS [hazard ratio (HR) 0.42, 95 % CI 0.25-0.71, P = 0.001; and HR 0.56, 0.37-0.84, P = 0.005, respectively] and OS. In multivariable analyses, cancer MKI67 mRNA content had independent influence on DDFS (adjusted HR 0.51, 95 % CI 0.29-0.89, P = 0.019) while Ki-67 protein expression had not any influence (P = 0.266) whereas both assessments influenced independently OS. Luminal B patients treated with docetaxel-FEC had more favourable DDFS and OS than those treated with vinorelbine-FEC when the subtype was defined by RT-qPCR (for DDFS, HR 0.52, 95 % CI 0.29-0.94, P = 0.031), but not when defined using IHC. Breast cancer subtypes approximated with RT-qPCR and IHC show good concordance, but cancer MKI67 mRNA content correlated slightly better with DDFS than Ki-67 expression. The findings based on MKI67 mRNA content suggest that patients with luminal B cancer benefit more from docetaxel-FEC than from vinorelbine-FEC.Peer reviewe

Metsäteollisuuden kuitulietteiden peltoviljelykäyttö karkeilla kivennäismailla

Viimeaikaiset tulokset massa- ja paperiteollisuuden sivuvirroista ja tehtaan jätevesien puhdistusprosesseista syntyvien kuitulietteiden käytöstä maanparannusaineina hienojakoisilla viljelymailla ovat olleet lupaavia. Kuitulietteiden sato-, hiilisyöte- ja maanparannusvaikutusten selvittämiseksi karkeilla kivennäismailla (KHt) perustettiin Biosfääri-hankkeessa (Biosfääri Pohjois-Savo; Biomassan ja biojalostusteknologioiden hyödyntäminen liiketoiminnan kasvattamisessa) Luke Maaningalle kaksivuotinen, lohkoittain satunnaistettu ja neljänä kerranteena toteutettu kenttäkoe. Timotei-nurminatanurmi perustettiin kesäkuussa 2020 suojaviljan alle. Ennen kylvöä kuitulietteet levitettiin maan pintaan (21–28 tuore-t ha-1, liukoinen-N n. 15 kg ha-1, kokonais-P n. 26 kg ha-1) ja äestettiin noin 7 cm:n syvyyteen. Toinen metsäteollisuuden kuitulietteistä oli tyyppinimeltään kalkkistabiloitu puhdistamoliete (kalkkikuitu Kuopio; Fortum Waste Solution Oy; jatkossa maanparannuskuitu A), kun taas toinen oli hygienisoimaton ja tuotteistamaton (Stora Enso Oyj, Varkaus; jatkossa maanparannuskuitu B). Kuitulietteistä otetuissa näytteissä ei todettu salmonellabakteereita ja Escherichia coli -pitoisuudet (&lt;10 pmy g-1) alittivat raja-arvot. Ennakkotietojen perusteella levitysmäärät suunniteltiin siten, että keskimääräinen kadmiumin enimmäiskuormitus ei ylittyisi ja lisätty hiilimäärä olisi samansuuruinen kuitukoejäsenten kesken (toteuma n. 3100 kg C ha-1). Molemmilla kuitulietteillä oli mukana kaksi mineraalityppilannoitustasoa (40 ja 80 kg N ha-1, lisänä n. 40 kg K ha-1). Mukana oli myös mineraalityppiportaat (0, 40, 80, 120 kg N ha-1, lisänä 10 kg P ha-1, n. 40 kg K ha-1). Tässä raportissa tuloksia esitetään karsitusti seuraaville koejäsenille: 1) typpilannoittamaton 0 kg N ha-1 (jatkossa 0 N), 2) mineraalityppiporras 80 kg N ha-1 (jatkossa 80 N), 3) maanparannuskuitu A + 80 N ja 4) maanparannuskuitu B + 80 N. Nurmivuonna 2021 tarkasteltiin kuitulevitysten jälkivaikutusta. Mineraalitypen lannoitustasot säilytettiin samanlaisina kuin vuonna 2020 (lisänä 1. niitossa: 20 kg P ha-1, n. 25 kg K ha-1; 2. niitossa: 0 kg P ha-1, n. 25 kg K ha-1). Ensimmäisenä koevuonna puimalla korjatun ohran sato (15% kosteus) oli kuitukoejäsenillä 80 kg N &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ha-1 -lisäystasolla keskimäärin 3840 kg ha-1, eikä poikennut tilastollisesti merkitsevästi koejäsenestä 80 N. Vuonna 2021 kuitukoejäsenet tuottivat keskimäärin 980 kg ka ha-1 suuremman nurmen kokonaiskuiva-ainesadon verrattuna 80 N -koejäseneen. Tämä satoero oli tilastollisesti merkitsevä molemmilla maanparannuskuiduilla ja selittyi todennäköisesti kuitujen sisältämän typen mineralisoitumisella. &nbsp