Automatic Processing Pipeline for Collecting and Annotating Air-Traffic Voice Communication Data

This document describes our pipeline for automatic processing of ATCO pilot audio communication we developed as part of the ATCO2 project. So far, we collected two thousand hours of audio recordings that we either preprocessed for the transcribers or used for semi-supervised training. Both methods of using the collected data can further improve our pipeline by retraining our models. The proposed automatic processing pipeline is a cascade of many standalone components: (a) segmentation, (b) volume control, (c) signal-to-noise ratio filtering, (d) diarization, (e) ‘speech-to-text’ (ASR) module, (f) English language detection, (g) call-sign code recognition, (h) ATCO—pilot classification and (i) highlighting commands and values. The key component of the pipeline is a speech-to-text transcription system that has to be trained with real-world ATC data; otherwise, the performance is poor. In order to further improve speech-to-text performance, we apply both semi-supervised training with our recordings and the contextual adaptation that uses a list of plausible callsigns from surveillance data as auxiliary information. Downstream NLP/NLU tasks are important from an application point of view. These application tasks need accurate models operating on top of the real speech-to-text output; thus, there is a need for more data too. Creating ATC data is the main aspiration of the ATCO2 project. At the end of the project, the data will be packaged and distributed by ELDA.

Automatic Air Volume Control System for Ventilation of Two Patients Using a Single Ventilator: A Large Animal Model Study

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak led to a global ventilator shortage. Hence, different strategies to use a single ventilator to support multiple patients are considered. A mechatronic system Ventil divides and automatically controls gas volume pumped through two channels and was successfully validated in independent lung ventilation. We used Ventil in a series of experiments on a large animal model to verify its usability for ventilation in two patients using a single ventilator. The results of investigations on 12 pigs showed that the physiological level of respiratory parameters was maintained for 24 hours. Application of Ventil did not lead to injuries in the lungs, as indicated by CT scan analysis. We conclude that ventilation using Ventil can be considered safe in patients subjected to deep sedation without spontaneous breathing efforts.

Mechanical ventilation is controlled by volume or pressure during neurosurgery. Is there an advantage?

Background. One of the main technologies of modern anesthesiology is mechanical ventilation (MV). At present, the protective technology of MV is widely recognized. The feasibi-lity of using this technology in the operating room, especially in patients with intact lungs, is not so obvious. Most of the scientific sources that cover this problem relate to patients with abdominal pathology, and less coverage remains in patients with neurosurgical pathology. However, patients who are operated on for neurosurgical pathology belong to the group of patients of high surgical risk, which forced us to conduct this study. The study was aimed to examine the feasibility of using protective MV during surgery in neurosurgical patients. Materials and methods. We examined 46 patients who were hospitalized in KNP 8 MKL in Lviv for spinal pathology and who underwent surgery for vertebroplasty with spondylodesis. Patients were divided into two groups: in the first group (34 patients), MV was performed by S-IPPV technology — synchronized intermittent positive pressure ventilation with volume control; and in the second group (12 patients), MV was performed by PCV technology — controlled ventilation pressure. Results. We retrospectively determined the incidence of post-operative pulmonary complications (POPC) in patients of the first and second groups. Of the 34 patients of the first group, the signs of POPC were detected in 17 patients (50 %), and of 12 patients of the second group, POPC were detected in 4 patients (33.3 %). It should be noted that MV in patients of both groups did not differ in such parameters as respiratory rate, end-alveolar pressure, and the fraction of oxygen in the respiratory mixture. Conclusions. A relatively small number of patients clearly do not allow the conclusions to be drawn, but it should be noted that MV (especially volume-controlled) contributes to postoperative pulmonary complications in patients with intact lungs in the preoperative period. And pressure-controlled MV tends to reduce the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications in the postoperative period. Given that respiration rate, end-alveolar expiratory pressure and oxygen fraction in the respiratory mixture were comparable in patients of both groups, it can be assumed that the factor influencing the incidence of POPC is the mechanics of pulmonary ventilation.

A New Strategy for Sponge City Construction of Urban Roads: Combining the Traditional Functions with Landscape and Drainage

Urban roads play a key role in sponge city construction, especially because of their drainage functions. However, efficient methods to enhance their drainage performance are still lacking. Here, we propose a new strategy to combine roads, green spaces, and the drainage system. Generally, by considering the organization of the runoff and the construction of the drainage system (including sponge city facilities) as the core of the strategy, the drainage and traffic functions were combined. This new strategy was implemented in a pilot study of road reconstruction conducted in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, China. Steel slag was used in the structural layers to enhance the water permeability of the pavement and the removal of runoff pollutants. The combined effects of this system and of the ribbon biological retention zone, allowed achieving an average removal rate of suspended solids, a chemical oxygen demand, a removal of total nitrogen and total phosphorus of 71.60%, 78.35%, 63.93%, and 49.47%; in contrast, a traditional road could not perform as well. Furthermore, the volume control rate of the annual runoff met the construction requirements (70%). The results of the present study indicate that, combining the traditional basic functions of roads with those of landscape and drainage might be a promising strategy for sponge city construction of urban road.

Gamma knife radiosurgery in patients with Cushing's Disease: Is it a curative option?

Background The first line of treatment of Cushing’s disease (CD) is surgery. However, surgical resection is not amenable in all cases and the role of radiosurgical management of residual tumors or upfront treatment has been reported. Our study highlights the effectiveness and safety of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for the treatment of Cushing’s disease. Methods This was an ambidirectional descriptive cohort study on 16 consecutive patients with a confirmed Cushing’s disease that underwent Gamma Knife Radiosurgery (GKR) before July 2014 and assessed for outcome during the study period between January 2014 and June 2016 (30 Months). We included patients with a minimum of two years follow up. The main outcomes were biochemical remission and tumor volume control. Secondary outcomes were visual field changes and morbidity. Results Sixteen cases with CD were included into the study. The Mean age ± SD was 34.81 ± 10.10 years. The male to female sex ratio was 1:3. Six cases (37.5%) were de novo. Normalization of hypersecretion at 2 years was achieved in 13 cases (81.3%).The median hormone normalization time was 23 months. Tumor volume control was achieved in all the cases, whereas tumor shrinkage was achieved in (10 cases) 62.5%. The median shrinkage time was 13 months. Of the 12 eyes with pre-Gamma Knife visual affection, 8 (75%) normalized, 4 (25%) improved, and none deteriorated. No patient developed new hypopituitarism after GK radiosurgery. One case developed diplopia at 24 months follow up from abducens palsy. No mortality occurred in our series. Conclusion Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery is an effective and safe treatment option for Cushing’s disease. It can be used as a complementary therapeutic procedure to classic surgery or as a first line treatment in selected number of patients.

Effects on Lung Gas Volume, Respiratory Mechanics and Gas Exchange of a Closed-Circuit Suctioning System during Volume- and Pressure-Controlled Ventilation in ARDS Patients

Mechanically ventilated patients periodically require endotracheal suctioning. There are conflicting data regarding the loss of lung gas volume caused by the application of a negative pressure by closed-circuit suctioning. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of suctioning performed by a closed-circuit system in ARDS patients during volume- or pressure-controlled ventilation. In this prospective crossover-design study, 18 ARDS patients were ventilated under volume and pressure control applied in random order. Gas exchange, respiratory mechanics and EIT-derived end-expiratory lung volume (EELV) before the suctioning manoeuvre and after 5, 15 and 30 min were recorded. The tidal volume and respiratory rate were similar in both ventilation modes; in volume control, the EELV decreased by 31 ± 23 mL, 5 min after the suctioning, but it remained similar after 15 and 30 min; the oxygenation, PaCO2 and respiratory system elastance did not change. In the pressure control, 5 min after suctioning, EELV decreased by 35 (26–46) mL, the PaO2/FiO2 did not change, while PaCO2 increased by 5 and 30 min after suctioning (45 (40–51) vs. 48 (43–52) and 47 (42–54) mmHg, respectively). Our results suggest minimal clinical advantages when a closed system is used in volume-controlled compared to pressure-controlled ventilation.

Landscape controls of surface-water/groundwater interactions on shallow outwash lakes: how the long-term groundwater signal overrides interannual variability due to evaporative effects

The spatial and temporal controls on variability of the relative contributions of groundwater within and between flow systems to shallow lakes in the low-relief glaciated Boreal Plains of Canada were evaluated. Eleven lakes located in a coarse glacial outwash, of varying topographic positions and potential groundwater contributing areas, were sampled annually for stable O and H isotope ratios over the course of 8 years. It was demonstrated that landscape position is the dominant control over relative groundwater contributions to these lakes and the spatial pattern of the long-term isotopic compositions attributed to groundwater overrides interannual variability due to evaporative effects. Lakes at low landscape positions with large potential groundwater capture areas have relatively higher and more consistent groundwater contributions and low interannual variability of isotopic composition. Isolated lakes high in the landscape experience high interannual variability as they have little to no groundwater input to buffer the volumetric or isotopic changes caused by evaporation and precipitation. An alternative explanation that lake morphometry (area and volume) control long-term isotopic compositions is tested and subsequently refuted. Landscape position within coarse outwash is a strong predictor for relative groundwater input; however, surface-water connections can short circuit groundwater pathways and confound the signal. A hydrogeological case study for three of the study lakes is used to contextualize and further demonstrate these results.

Free Convective Heat Transfer in a Closed Gap between Concentric Semi-Hemispheres

Free convective heat transfer in the closed gap between concentric semi-hemispheres is quantified by means of a numerical approach based on the volume control method using the SIMPLE algorithm. The average Nusselt number is determined for several configurations obtained by varying the cavity’s aspect ratio between 0.15 and 1.5, while the Rayleigh number varies within the 5.33 × 103–4.50 × 108 range. The results show that the correlations available in the literature dealing with concentric whole spheres cannot be used for the configuration treated here. The new correlation between the Nusselt and Rayleigh numbers proposed in this work can be applied in various engineering sectors, such as in the electronic packaging considered in this present work, buildings, and architecture.