Detection of Whale Acoustic Signals in the Northern Gulf of Mexico LADC-GEMM Database

Low-pass Fourier filter, wavelet filter, as well as matched filter detection methods were used to detect baleen whale signals in northern Gulf of Mexico data collected by the Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center (LADC) consortium. Some potential low frequency signals appeared on the matched filter output figure. The shape of the signals is in line with one of the typical signal shapes of fin whales--vertical down-sweeps with 18s-time interval. Another shape of the signals is in line with one of the call type shapes of Bryde\u27s whales--down-sweeps with 7s-time interval. A high-pass Fourier filter was also used to find toothed whale high frequency sounds in the Gulf of Mexico data. The sounds featuring click trains and codas belonging to sperm whales have been clearly identified

Detection of Whale Acoustic Signals in the Northern Gulf of Mexico LADC-GEMM Database

Low-pass Fourier filter, wavelet filter, as well as matched filter detection methods were used to detect baleen whale signals in northern Gulf of Mexico data collected by the Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center (LADC) consortium. Some potential low frequency signals appeared on the matched filter output figure. The shape of the signals is in line with one of the typical signal shapes of fin whales--vertical down-sweeps with 18s-time interval. Another shape of the signals is in line with one of the call type shapes of Bryde\u27s whales--down-sweeps with 7s-time interval. A high-pass Fourier filter was also used to find toothed whale high frequency sounds in the Gulf of Mexico data. The sounds featuring click trains and codas belonging to sperm whales have been clearly identified

Fine-grained Multimodal Sentiment Analysis Based on Gating and Attention Mechanism

In recent years, more and more people express their feelings through both images and texts, boosting the growth of multimodal data. Multimodal data contains richer semantics and is more conducive to judging the real emotions of people. To fully learn the features of every single modality and integrate modal information, this paper proposes a fine-grained multimodal sentiment analysis method FCLAG based on gating and attention mechanism. First, the method is carried out from the character level and the word level in the text aspect. CNN is used to extract more fine-grained emotional information from characters, and the attention mechanism is used to improve the expressiveness of the keywords. In terms of images, a gating mechanism is added to control the flow of image information between networks. The images and text vectors represent the original data collectively. Then the bidirectional LSTM is used to complete further learning, which enhances the information interaction capability between the modalities. Finally, put the multimodal feature expression into the classifier. This method is verified on a self-built image and text dataset. The experimental results show that compared with other sentiment classification models, this method has greater improvement in accuracy and F1 score and it can effectively improve the performance of multimodal sentiment analysis

Contrastive analysis of distractions to pilot caused by various flight instrument displays

Automation of aircraft instrument displays enhances flight safety, but it also increases complexity and pilot workload. Executing changes in flight plan, navigation or communication during flight using flight instrument switches often increases pilots’ workload and this may also cause distraction that adds potential risks to flight safety. This study compares the conventional avionics panel and touchscreen avionic panel to find out the least distractive panel for the pilots. Thirty simulated flights using four different pilots were carried out; and aircraft speed, altitude and heading parameters using both avionics systems were observed to study the operational efficiency and pilot distraction resulted from each of the avionic systems. The distraction was examined by a parameter analysis based on the Mean Squared Error (MSE) mathematical model and visually by recording videos of each simulated flight. The results indicate that the touchscreen system is more efficient and less erroneous for the aircraft in maintaining the parameters as compared with the conventional system. There is also a clear relationship between task completion time and disruption level on the parameters control

Teacher cognition in teaching intercultural communicative competence: A qualitative study on preservice Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong SAR, China

The purpose of this study is to examine preservice Chinese language teachers’ cognition in teaching intercultural communicative competence. In the study we collected data through in-depth interviews with seven preservice teachers in a Master of Education program (Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, TCSL) at a university in Hong Kong SAR, China. The findings indicated that the participants had a relatively positive attitude and inclination toward the development of students’ intercultural communicative competence, while their conceptualizations of culture tended to be static and ambiguous. In addition, the participants’ objectives in teaching intercultural communicative competence were found to be more attitude-than knowledge- or skill-oriented. The study offers valuable insights that preservice language teachers’ cognition plays a crucial role in their future professional development and calls for curricular innovations with intercultural aims in teacher education programs

Denervation as a Common Mechanism Underlying Different Pulmonary Vein Isolation Strategies for Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: Evidenced by Heart Rate Variability after Ablation

Backgrounds. Segmental and circumferential pulmonary vein isolations (SPVI and CPVI) have been demonstrated to be effective therapies for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). PVI is well established as the endpoint of different ablation techniques, whereas it may not completely account for the long-term success. Methods. 181 drug-refractory symptomatic PAF patients were referred for segmental or circumferential PVI (SPVI = 67; CPVI = 114). Heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed before and after the final ablation. Results. After following up for 62.23±12.75 months, patients underwent 1.41±0.68 procedures in average, and the success rates in SPVI and CPVI groups were comparable. 119 patients were free from AF recurrence (SPVI-S, n=43; CPVI-S, n=76). 56 patients had recurrent episodes (SPVI-R, n=21; CPVI-R, n=35). Either ablation technique decreased HRV significantly. Postablation SDNN and rMSSD were significantly lower in SPVI-S and CPVI-S subgroups than in SPVI-R and CPVI-R subgroups (SPVI-S versus SPVI-R: SDNN 91.8±32.6 versus 111.5±36.2 ms, rMSSD 47.4±32.3 versus 55.2±35.2 ms; CPVI-S versus CPVI-R: SDNN 83.0±35.6 versus 101.0±40.7 ms, rMSSD 41.1±22.9 versus 59.2±44.8 ms; all P<0.05). Attenuation of SDNN and rMSSD remained for 12 months in SPVI-S and CPVI-S subgroups, whereas it recovered earlier in SPVI-R and CPVI-R subgroups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified SDNN as the only predictor of long-term success. Conclusions. Beyond PVI, denervation may be a common mechanism underlying different ablation strategies for PAF

The feasibility and safety of his-purkinje conduction system pacing in patients with heart failure with severely reduced ejection fraction

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and outcomes of conduction system pacing (CSP) in patients with heart failure (HF) who had a severely reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of less than 30% (HFsrEF).MethodsBetween January 2018 and December 2020, all consecutive HF patients with LVEF &lt; 30% who underwent CSP at our center were evaluated. Clinical outcomes and echocardiographic data [LVEF and left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV)], and complications were all recorded. In addition, clinical and echocardiographic (≥5% improvement in LVEF or ≥15% decrease in LVESV) responses were assessed. The patients were classified into a complete left bundle branch block (CLBBB) morphology group and a non-CLBBB morphology group according to the baseline QRS configuration.ResultsSeventy patients (66 ± 8.84 years; 55.7% male) with a mean LVEF of 23.2 ± 3.23%, LVEDd of 67.33 ± 7.47 mm and LVESV of 212.08 ± 39.74 ml were included. QRS configuration at baseline was CLBBB in 67.1% (47/70) of patients and non-CLBBB in 32.9%. At implantation, the CSP threshold was 0.6 ± 0.3 V @ 0.4 ms and remained stable during a mean follow-up of 23.43 ± 11.44 months. CSP resulted in significant LVEF improvement from 23.2 ± 3.23% to 34.93 ± 10.34% (P &lt; 0.001) and significant QRS narrowing from 154.99 ± 34.42 to 130.81 ± 25.18 ms (P &lt; 0.001). Clinical and echocardiographic responses were observed in 91.4% (64/70) and 77.1% (54/70) of patients. Super-response to CSP (≥15% improvement in LVEF or ≥30% decrease in LVESV) was observed in 52.9% (37/70) of patients. One patient died due to acute HF and following severe metabolic disorders. Baseline BNP (odds ratio: 0.969; 95% confidence interval: 0.939–0.989; P = 0.045) was associated with echocardiographic response. The proportions of clinical and echocardiographic responses in the CLBBB group were higher than those in the non-CLBBB group but without significant statistical differences.ConclusionsCSP is feasible and safe in patients with HFsrEF. CSP is associated with a significant improvement in clinical and echocardiographic outcomes, even for patients with non-CLBBB widened QRS

CD28/B7-Mediated Co-stimulation Is Critical for Early Control of Murine Cytomegalovirus Infection

Abstract Control of acute murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection is dependent upon both innate and adaptive immune responses, relying primarily upon natural killer (NK) and T-cell responses for control. Although CD28/B7 plays a clear role in T-cell responses in many antigen systems including some viral infections, the importance of co-stimulation during MCMV infection is unconfirmed. In addition, recent data suggest that CD28/B7 co-stimulation might also be important to Ly49H+ NK-cell expansion. We therefore hypothesized that CD28/B7 co-stimulation is critical to viral control after MCMV infection, and further that CD28/B7 co-stimulation plays a role in MCMV-specific T- and NK-cell responses. To test these hypotheses, we utilized C57BL/6 mice lacking the co-stimulatory molecules B7-1 and B7-2 or CD28. After primary infection with MCMV, viral titers are significantly elevated in mice lacking CD28 or B7 compared with wild-type mice. Impaired viral control is associated with significant defects in peripheral T-cell responses to MCMV, which appear to be dependent upon CD28/B7 co-stimulation. Abnormal hepatic T-cell responses in CD28/ mice are preceded by impaired MCMV-specific Ly49H+ NK-cell responses. Cytokine evaluations confirm that CD28/B7 co-stimulation is not required for non-specific antiviral responses. We conclude that CD28-mediated co-stimulation is critical for early viral control during acute MCMV infection.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78134/1/vim.2008.0080.pd

Systems-Mapping of Herbal Effects on Complex Diseases Using the Network-Perturbation Signatures

The herbs have proven to hold great potential to improve people's health and wellness during clinical practice over the past millennia. However, herbal medicine for the personalized treatment of disease is still under investigation owing to the complex multi-component interactions in herbs. To reveal the valuable insights for herbal synergistic therapy, we have chosen Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as a case to illustrate the art and science behind the complicated multi-molecular, multi-genes interaction systems, and how the good practices of herbal combination therapy are applicable to personalized treatment. Here, we design system-wide interaction map strategy to provide a generic solution to establish the links between diseases and herbs based on comprehensive testing of molecular signatures in herb-disease pairs. Firstly, we integrated gene expression profiles from 189 diseases to characterize the disease-pathological feature. Then, we generated the perturbation signatures from the huge chemical informatics data and pharmacological data for each herb, which were represented the targets affected by the ingredients in the herb. So that we could assess the effects of herbs on the individual. Finally, we integrated the data of 189 diseases and 502 herbs, yielding the optimal herbal combinations for the diseases based on the strategy, and verifying the reliability of the strategy through the permutation testing and literature verification. Furthermore, we propose a novel formula as a candidate therapeutic drugs of rheumatoid arthritis and demonstrate its therapeutic mechanism through the systematic analysis of the influencing targets and biological processes. Overall, this computational method provides a systematic approach, which blended herbal medicine and omics data sets, allowing for the development of novel drug combinations for complex human diseases