Abstract

We propose a novel approach to significantly improve the intelligibility in the Non-Audible Murmur (NAM)-to-speech conversion task, leveraging self-supervision and sequence-tosequence (Seq2Seq) learning techniques. Unlike conventional methods that explicitly record ground-truth speech, our methodology relies on self-supervision and speech-to-speech synthesis to simulate ground-truth speech. Despite utilizing simulated speech, our method surpasses the current state-of-the-art (SOTA) by 29.08% improvement in the Mel-Cepstral Distortion (MCD) metric. Additionally, we present error rates and demonstrate our model’s proficiency to synthesize speech in novel voices of interest. Moreover, we present a methodology for augmenting the existing CSTR NAM TIMIT Plus corpus, setting a benchmark with a Word Error Rate (WER) of 42.57% to gauge the intelligibility of the synthesized speech. Speech samples can be found at https://nam2speech.github.io/NAM2Speech/

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Existing datasets for tabular question answering typically focus exclusively on text within cells. However, real-world data is inherently multimodal, often blending images such as symbols, faces, icons, patterns, and charts with textual content in tables. With the evolution of AI models capable of multimodal reasoning, it is pertinent to assess their efficacy in handling such structured data. This study investigates whether current AI models can perform knowledge-aware reasoning on multimodal structured data. We explore their ability to reason on tables that integrate both images and text, introducing MMTabQA, a new dataset designed for this purpose. Our experiments highlight substantial challenges for current AI models in effectively integrating and interpreting multiple text and image inputs, understanding visual context, and comparing visual content across images. These findings establish our dataset as a robust benchmark for advancing AI's comprehension and capabilities in analyzing multimodal structured data.

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Purpose : This study aims to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based system for accurately grading arrested retinal development using optical coherence tomography (OCT) across various manufacturers. We employ deep learning techniques, specifically Unsupervised Domain Adaptation (UDA), to create a device-agnostic classification model distinguishing normal and abnormal retinal development. Methods : Foveal scans from three OCT manufacturers (TM-OCT1, HH-OCT1, TM-OCT2, TM-OCT3) were collected and annotated from datasets exceeding 20,000 OCT scans. The dataset was divided into training (80%) and testing (20%) sets. We utilised Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) with ResNet50 backbone, assessing each pair as the source (for supervised training) and target (for unsupervised training). The diagnostic accuracy of the AI models was compared to seven clinician graders with varying experience (1 to 10 years), evaluating sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy. Results : The cross-domain binary classification demonstrated exceptional diagnostic accuracy ranging from 87.75% to 96.06%. Sensitivity and specificity metrics further validated the robustness of our AI system (sensitivity: 88.68% to 98.38%, specificity: 78.00% to 98.02%). Notably, the model trained on TM-OCT1 and HH-OCT1 achieved 96.06% accuracy, 98.38% sensitivity, and 89.11% specificity on the HH-OCT1 test set, with an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 99.4 (95% CI). These outcomes highlight the system's ability to distinguish normal and abnormal retinal development across diverse OCT devices. Conclusions : Our study demonstrates, for the first time, the feasibility of employing a device-agnostic AI system in paediatric OCT interpretation without additional labelled data. The AI system's diagnostic performance is comparable to a clinician with over 10 years of experience, showcasing its potential to reduce inter-examiner variability and enhance clinical care pathways. With integration of paediatric OCT into routine clinical assessment, our AI system serves as a robust foundation for the development of a real-time, frontline diagnostic tool for retinal developmental disorders.

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Flapping-wing robots (FWR) have domain-specific applications, where the lack of a fast-rotating propeller makes them safer when operating in complex environments with human proximity. However, most existing research in flapping-wing robots focuses on improving range/endurance or increasing payload capacity. This paper proposes a modular powertrain-based flapping-wing robot as a versatile solution to a mission-specific priority switch between payload or range for the same FWR. As the flapping frequency and stroke amplitude directly influence the flight characteristics of the FWR, we exploit this relation when designing our swappable powertrain with different motorgearbox combinations and 4-bar crank lengths to obtain the desired frequency and amplitude. We calculate initial estimates for default configuration and simulate it using pterasoftware. We then fabricate two powertrain modules - a default configuration with a higher flapping frequency for payload purposes and an extended-range configuration with a tandem propeller for higher flight velocity for longer range and endurance. To verify the results, we compare the flight test data of both power train configurations using the same FWR platform.

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Automating end-to-end Exploratory Data Analysis (AutoEDA) is a challenging open problem, often tackled through Reinforcement Learning (RL) by learning to predict a sequence of analysis operations (FILTER, GROUP, etc). Defining rewards for each operation is a challenging task and existing methods rely on various emph{interestingness measures} to craft reward functions to capture the importance of each operation. In this work, we argue that not all of the essential features of what makes an operation important can be accurately captured mathematically using rewards. We propose an AutoEDA model trained through imitation learning from expert EDA sessions, bypassing the need for manually defined interestingness measures. Our method, based on generative adversarial imitation learning (GAIL), generalizes well across datasets, even with limited expert data. We also introduce a novel approach for generating synthetic EDA demonstrations for training. Our method outperforms the existing state-of-the-art end-to-end EDA approach on benchmarks by upto 3x, showing strong performance and generalization, while naturally capturing diverse interestingness measures in generated EDA sessions.

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Skip to content IOP Science home Accessibility Help Search Journals Books Publishing Support Login Engineering Research Express Inclusive Publishing Trusted Science, find out more. Purpose-led Publishing, find out more. ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT A label-free sensing of creatinine using radio frequency-driven lab-on-chip (loc) system Andleeb Zahra1, Swarnim Sinha2, Alimpan Modak3, Imran Siddiqui4, Azeemuddin Syed5, Prabhakar Bhimalapuram6, Tapan K. Sau7, Pawan Kumar8 and Zia Abbas9 Accepted Manuscript online 2 August 2024 • © 2024 IOP Publishing Ltd What is an Accepted Manuscript? DOI 10.1088/2631-8695/ad6ad5 DownloadAccepted Manuscript PDF Download PDF Article metrics 6 Total downloads Submit Submit to this Journal Permissions Get permission to re-use this article Share this article Article and author information Abstract This paper presents a promising avenue of Radio Frequency (RF) biosensors for sensitive and real-time monitoring of creatinine detection. Knowing creatinine levels in the human body is related to its possible association with renal, muscular, and thyroid dysfunction. The detection was performed using an Inter-Digitated Capacitor (IDC) made of copper (Cu) metal over an FR4 substrate. To demonstrate our methodology, we have chosen Phosphate Buffer (PB) as our solvent for making the creatinine solutions of different concentrations. Moreover, Assayed Chemistry Control (ACC), a reference control consisting of human serum-based solutions has been mixed with the different concentrations of creatinine in a ratio of 1:9 to spike the creatinine value in the ACC solution. The sensor has been designed using a High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) tool with an operating frequency of 2.53 GHz. Then the design is fabricated over the FR4 printed circuit board (PCB) and tested using a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). However, the sensitive area of the IDC is introduced to grade 4 Whatman filter paper for the Sample Under Test (SUT) handling unit. The main advantage of using Whatman filter paper is that the uniform spreading of liquid reduces experimental error, and less volume is required for testing the sample. The principal idea implemented in the biosensor design is to track the shift in the operating frequency in the presence of different concentrations of creatinine mix in ACC solution with Phosphate Buffer (PB) solution as a reference.

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Mobile manipulators find applications in manufacturing, infrastructure inspection, and domestic services. While most mobile manipulators excel at pick and place, weaim to combine three distinct manipulation primitives: striking,Pushing, and pick-and-place. This integration enables versatile object manipulation and expands the robot’s operational range. Furthermore, we propose a new attachment that can be easily fitted with most industrial two-finger grippers, capable of making line contact while pushing or striking an object. The proposed framework includes a high-level action sequence planner, dedicated offline planners for each manipulation primitive (Strike, Push, and Pick & Place), and a whole-body controller. Preliminary results from simulations and hardware experiments demonstrate the potential for diverse applications in the field of mobile manipulation.

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Univariate regression trees have representation problems for non-orthogonal regression functions. Ensembles of univariate regression trees have better representational power. In some cases, weighted ensembles have shown better performance than unweighted ensembles. In this paper, we study the properties of ensembles of regression trees by using regression classification models. We propose a theoretical framework to study the representational power of infinite-sized weighted ensembles, consisting of randomised finite-sized regression trees. We show for some datasets that the weighted ensembles may have better representational power than unweighted ensembles, but the performance is highly dependent on the weighting scheme and the properties of datasets. Our model cannot be used for all the datasets. However, for some datasets, we can accurately predict the experimental results of ensembles of regression trees.

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Aim We test the hypothesis that wind dispersal is more common among emergent tree species given that being tall increases the likelihood of effective seed dispersal. Location Americas, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. Time period 1970–2020. Major taxa studied Gymnosperms and Angiosperms. Methods We used a dataset consisting of tree inventories from 2821 plots across three biogeographic regions (Americas, Africa and Asia-Pacific), including dry and wet forests, to determine the maximum height and dispersal strategy of 5314 tree species. A web search was used to determine whether species were wind-dispersed. We compared differences in tree species maximum height between biogeographic regions and examined the relationship between species maximum height and wind dispersal using logistic regression. We also tested whether emergent tree species, that is species with at least one individual taller than the 95% height percentile in one or more plots, were disproportionally wind dispersed in dry and wet forests within each biogeographic region. Results Our dataset provides maximum height values for 5314 tree species, of which more than half (2914) had no record of this trait in existing global databases. We found that, on average, tree species in the Americas have lower maximum heights compared to those in Africa and the Asia Pacific. The probability of wind dispersal increased significantly with tree species maximum height and was significantly higher among emergent than non-emergent tree species in both dry and wet forests in all three biogeographic regions. Main conclusion Wind dispersal is more prevalent in tall, emergent tree species than in non-emergent species and may thus be an important factor in the evolution of tree species maximum height. By providing the most comprehensive dataset so far of tree species maximum height and wind dispersal strategies, this study paves the way for advancing our understanding of the eco-evolutionary drivers of tree size.