Deep Learning-Based Estimation of Reverberant Environment for Audio Data Augmentation

This paper proposes an audio data augmentation method based on deep learning in order to improve the performance of dereverberation. Conventionally, audio data are augmented using a room impulse response, which is artificially generated by some methods, such as the image method. The proposed method estimates a reverberation environment model based on a deep neural network that is trained by using clean and recorded audio data as inputs and outputs, respectively. Then, a large amount of a real augmented database is constructed by using the trained reverberation model, and the dereverberation model is trained with the augmented database. The performance of the augmentation model was verified by a log spectral distance and mean square error between the real augmented data and the recorded data. In addition, according to dereverberation experiments, the proposed method showed improved performance compared with the conventional method.

Efficient coding of natural scenes improves neural system identification

Neural system identification aims at learning the response function of neurons to arbitrary stimuli using experimentally recorded data, but typically does not leverage coding principles such as efficient coding of natural environments. Visual systems, however, have evolved to efficiently process input from the natural environment. Here, we present a normative network regularization for system identification models by incorporating, as a regularizer, the efficient coding hypothesis, which states that neural response properties of sensory representations are strongly shaped by the need to preserve most of the stimulus information with limited resources. Using this approach, we explored if a system identification model can be improved by sharing its convolutional filters with those of an autoencoder which aims to efficiently encode natural stimuli. To this end, we built a hybrid model to predict the responses of retinal neurons to noise stimuli. This approach did not only yield a higher performance than the stand-alone system identification model, it also produced more biologically-plausible filters. We found these results to be consistent for retinal responses to different stimuli and across model architectures. Moreover, our normatively regularized model performed particularly well in predicting responses of direction-of-motion sensitive retinal neurons. In summary, our results support the hypothesis that efficiently encoding environmental inputs can improve system identification models of early visual processing.

Land-Streamer vs. Conventional Seismic Data for High-Resolution Near-Surface Surveys

Near-surface high-resolution seismic mapping is very important in many applications such as engineering and environmental. However, the conventional setup of the seismic technique requires planting geophones, connecting cables, and then collecting all equipment after completing the survey, which is time-consuming. In this study, we suggest using a land-streamer setup rather than the conventional setup for fast, accurate, and high-resolution near-surface seismic surveys. Only one field data set is recorded using both the conventional and the land-streamer setups. The recorded data is then compared in terms of time, frequency, wavenumber domains, and acquisition time. Following this, we compared the accuracy of the subsurface mapping of both setups using a synthetic example. The results show that the conventional setup can reach deeper depths but with lower accuracy, where the errors in imaging the local anomalies’ widths and thicknesses are 77% to 145% and 35% to 50%, respectively. The land-streamer setup provides accurate near-surface results but shallower penetration depth, here the errors in the anomalies’ widths and thicknesses are 5% to 12% and 10% to 20%, respectively.

Exploring the Dynamics of Charismatic Attribution: How and Why Do People Think of Other Individuals as Charismatic?

Charisma is a popular and enthralling concept both in its academic and lay usage; with some alluding to the role of charisma as important to various historical events including the 2016 Philippine presidential elections (Curato, 2016; Francisco, 2017; Pedrosa, 2015). However, the dynamics of charismatic attribution – how and why people think of, label, perceive or categorize other individuals as charismatic – has had a disproportionately fewer share of discussion in the literature. This is despite the fact that charismatic attribution has played a central, if implicit, role in the development of the construct of charisma. This study sought to explore the dynamics of charismatic attribution, and pagtatanong-tanong (indigenous participatory interview; Pe-Pua, 2006) was done with N=17 participants (523 minutes of audio recorded data) of diverse occupations, ages, and SES. The participants' conceptualization of charisma varies, but the role of effects is primary. These effects include 1.) capturing attention, 2.) behavioral influence, 3.) making people believe the figure's message, 4.) effects on emotion and 5.) having devoted followers. Results indicate that charismatic attribution is mainly an effects-based appraisal - an evaluation of whether figures are able to achieve the participants’ notion of what a charismatic effect is. Various attributes and various behaviors are used to describe charismatic figures in so far as these help produce the previously stated effects but are not in themselves primary considerations for charismatic attribution. Only for a proportion of the participants do moral judgements factor in whether they would think of another individual as charismatic. It is argued that the process of charismatic attribution facilitates attending to internal characteristics of figures to describe and explain why effects occur. Charismatic attribution allows to make sense and simplify complex social phenomenon. Other theoretical considerations are then discussed, including a comparison with the signaling framework of charisma (Antonakis et al., 2016; Antonakis, 2017) and an alternative model of charisma is developed: The Constructed Charisma Framework.

Mineralogical information in the diary of D. G. Messerschmidt on the route of the future Siberian expedition of P. S. Pallas: materials for the study of scientific continuity

This work is aimed at detectinginformation from the field of mineralogy in the documentary heritage of the first scientific expedition to Siberia by D. G. Messerschmidt. The analysis was made of an expedition diary, the original of which is kept in the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, – the fragmentsthat describes Messerschmidt’s Siberian route, coinciding with the future route of P. S. Pallas, who visited many of the Siberian regions that Messerschmidt had explored half a century before. Messerschmidt recorded data on several groups of minerals, including salts, metals, clays, micas, etc.The question of Messerschmidt’s creation of his mineralogical collections, as well as their systematics and cataloging deserves special study. The analysis of the results of the Messerschmidt’sobservations provides material for establishing the influence on Pallas of the first German scientist traveler, despite the fact that Pallas knew well Messerschmidt’s scientific heritage and made his efforts to make it public.

Sosialisasi penerapan Smart e-Monitoring untuk pasien Covid-19 berbasis IoT di STIPARK NTB

The Merdeka Campus Competition Program, held by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, is a financing program that aims to facilitate, encourage, and accelerate the transformation of higher education institutions. Informatics Engineering Study Program, Hamzanwadi University, as one of the universities that received the grant, developed an Internet of Things-based application to monitor the progress of Covid-19 patients who are self-isolating called SMART e-MONITORING. Therefore, this activity aims to socialize the Smart e-Monitoring application at STIPARK NTB as partners. This activity was held over four months. It’s were starting from product presentations to system testing and product launching. The activity results show that the developed application can run well and display the patient's condition in real-time. The recorded data include body temperature data, oxygen levels (SPO2), and heart rate (BPM). This data is used to facilitate the handling of self-isolated patients in real-time and without direct contact with Covid-19 patients.

The Use of American and British Lexis in Brunei English

In pronunciation, influenced by American English, a shift in Brunei English can be observed in the increasing use of [r] in tokens such as car and heard particularly among younger speakers whose pronunciation may be influenced by American English. In contrast, older speakers tend to omit the [r] sound in these tokens as their pronunciation may be more influenced by British English. However, it is unclear whether American English has influenced the vocabulary of Brunei English speakers as the education system in Brunei favours British English due to its historical ties with Britain. This paper analyses the use of American and British lexical items between three age groups: 20 in-service teachers aged between 29 to 35 years old, 20 university undergraduates aged between 19 to 25 years old, and 20 secondary school students who are within the 11 to 15 age range. Each age group has 10 female and 10 male participants and they were asked to name seven objects shown to them on Power point slides. Their responses were recorded and compared between the age groups and between female and male data. The analysis is supplemented with recorded data from interviews with all 60 participants to determine instances of American and British lexical items in casual speech. It was found that there is a higher occurrence of American than British lexical items in all three groups and the interview data supports the findings in the main data. Thus, providing further evidence for the Americanisation of Brunei English and that Brunei English is undergoing change.

WHISTLER-TRIGGERED VLF EMISSIONS RECORDED AT JAMMU DURING DAY TIME

Whistler-triggered VLF emissions recorded at low latitude station Jammu (Geomagnetic latitude = 220 26/ N; L = 1.17) during day time period on 19th February 1999 at 14:35 hrs. IST. The recorded data have been analyzed. Based on whistler-triggered VLF emissions spectrum, the VLF waves propagate along the path with L – values lying between L = 4.4 and 4.38. During the observation period, magnetic activity was very high. Mostly these types of emissions recorded at mid latitudes. These whistler-triggered emission waves propagate along the geomagnetic field lines either in a ducted mode or in a pro-longitudinal mode. Relative amplitude of whistlers waves is almost equal to relative amplitude of triggered emissions. The proposed generation mechanism explains through the dynamic spectra of the whistler-triggered emissions.