Macroscopic Point Research Articles

Microscopic and Blind Prediction of Speech Intelligibility: Theory and Practice.

Being able to estimate speech intelligibility without the need for listening tests would confer great benefits for a wide range of speech processing applications. Many attempts have therefore been made to introduce an objective, and ideally referencefree measure for this purpose. Most works analyze speech intelligibility prediction (SIP) methods from a macroscopic point of view, averaging over longer time spans. This paper, in contrast, presents a theoretical framework for the microscopic evaluation of SIP methods. Within our framework, a Statistically estimated Accuracy based on Theory (StAT) is derived, which numerically quantifies the statistical limitations inherent in microscopic SIP. A state-of-the-art approach to microscopic SIP, namely, the use of automatic speech recognition (ASR) to directly predict listening test results, is evaluated within this framework. The practical results are in good agreement with the theory. As the final contribution, a fully blind DIscriminative Speech intelligibility Predictor (DISP) is introduced and is also evaluated within the StAT framework. It is shown that this novel, blind estimator can predict intelligibility as well as-and often even with better accuracy than-the non-blind ASR-based approach, and that its results are again in good agreement with its theoretically derived performance potential.

Deep Bayesian local crystallography

The advent of high-resolution electron and scanning probe microscopy imaging has opened the floodgates for acquiring atomically resolved images of bulk materials, 2D materials, and surfaces. This plethora of data contains an immense volume of information on materials structures, structural distortions, and physical functionalities. Harnessing this knowledge regarding local physical phenomena necessitates the development of the mathematical frameworks for extraction of relevant information. However, the analysis of atomically resolved images is often based on the adaptation of concepts from macroscopic physics, notably translational and point group symmetries and symmetry lowering phenomena. Here, we explore the bottom-up definition of structural units and symmetry in atomically resolved data using a Bayesian framework. We demonstrate the need for a Bayesian definition of symmetry using a simple toy model and demonstrate how this definition can be extended to the experimental data using deep learning networks in a Bayesian setting, namely rotationally invariant variational autoencoders.

Asymptotic homogenization approach for anisotropic micropolar modeling of periodic Cauchy materials

A micropolar-based asymptotic homogenization approach for the analysis of composite materials with periodic microstructure is proposed. The upscaling relations, conceived to determine the macro-descriptors (macro displacement and the micropolar rotation fields) as a function of the micro displacement field, are consistently derived in the asymptotic framework. In particular, the micropolar rotation field is expressed in terms of the microscopical infinitesimal rotation tensor and perturbation functions. The micro displacement field is, in turn, obtained by choosing a third order approximation of the asymptotic expansion, in which the macroscopic fields are expressed as a third order polynomial expansion. It follows that the macro descriptors are directly related to both perturbation functions and micropolar two-dimensional deformation modes. Furthermore, a properly conceived energy equivalence between the macroscopic point and a microscopic representative portion of the periodic composite material is introduced to derive the consistent overall micropolar constitutive tensors. It is pointed out that these constitutive tensors are not affected by the choice of the periodic cell. Moreover, in the case of vanishing microstructure the internal-length-scale-dependent constitutive tensors tend to zero, as expected. Finally, the capabilities of the proposed approach are shown through some illustrative examples.

Promoting Rechargeable Batteries Operated at Low Temperature.

ConspectusBuilding rechargeable batteries for subzero temperature application is highly demanding for various specific applications including electric vehicles, grid energy storage, defense/space/subsea explorations, and so forth. Commercialized nonaqueous lithium ion batteries generally adapt to a temperature above -20 °C, which cannot well meet the requirements under colder conditions. Certain improvements have been achieved with nascent materials and electrolyte systems but have mainly been restrained to discharge and within a small rate at temperatures above -40 °C. Moreover, the recharging process of batteries based on the graphite anode still faces huge challenges from the simultaneous Li+ intercalation and potential Li stripping at subzero temperatures. Revealing the temperature-dependent evolution of physicochemical and electrochemical properties will greatly benefit our understanding of the limiting factors at low temperature, which is of significant importance.Herein, we dissect the ion movements in the liquid electrolyte and solid electrode as well as their interphase to analyze the temperature effect on Li+-diffusion behavior during charging/discharging processes. An electrolyte is the vital factor, and its ionic conductivity guarantees the smooth operation of the battery. However, it is the sluggish diffusion in the solid, especially the charge transfer at the solid electrolyte/electrode interfaces (SEI), that greatly limits the kinetics at low temperature. Many strategies have been put forward to tame electrolytes for low-temperature application. From a macroscopic point of view, multiple solvents are mixed to adjust the liquid temperature range and viscosity. With respect to the microscopic nature, research is focusing on the solvation structure by formulating the ratio of Li+ ions to solvent molecules. The binding energy of the Li+-solvent complex is crucial for the desolvation process at low temperature, which is manipulated with fluorinated solvents or other weakly solvating electrolytes. On the basis of an optimized electrolyte, electrodes and their reaction mechanism need to be coupled carefully because different materials show totally different responses to temperature change. To avoid the sluggish desolvation process or slow diffusion in the bulk intercalation compounds, several kinds of materials are summarized for low temperature use. The intercalation pseudocapacitive behavior can compensate for the kinetics to some extent, and a metal anode is a good candidate for replacing a graphite anode to build high-energy-density batteries at subzero temperature. It is also a wise choice to develop nascent battery chemistry based on the co-intercalation of solvent molecules into electrodes. Furthermore, the interfacial resistance contributes a lot at low temperature, which need be modified to accelerate the Li+ diffusion across the film. This will be linked to the electrolyte, exactly speaking, the solvation structure, to regulate the organic and inorganic components as well as the structure. Although it is difficult to investigate SEI on a graphite anode owing to its poor performance at low temperature, great efforts on Li metal anodes have offered some valuable information as reference. It is worth mentioning that the improvement in low-temperature performance calls for not only a change in the single composition but also the synergetic effect of each part in the whole battery. The elementary studies covered in this account could be taken as insight into some key strategies that help advance the low-temperature battery chemistry.

Study of Shear Behavior of Binary Mixtures by DEM Simulation of Biaxial Test in the Membrane Boundary Condition

This paper aims to study the shear behavior of binary particles with irregular shapes by discrete element method simulations of the biaxial test in the membrane boundary condition. Binary particle samples are generated according to different volume fractions of coarse and fine particles. The deviatoric stress and volumetric strain curves are plotted to describe the contracting-dilatancy relationship of binary samples under shearing conditions. The anisotropy of the normal and tangential contact forces are explored by visualization of the orientation of contact forces to describe the evolution of micro structures of samples during the shearing process. Besides, the formations of the shear band are observed by the visualization of the newly generated contact force chains between particles. The research shows that the volume fraction of coarse particles and particle size ratio have significant influences on the shear behavior of binary particles both in macroscopic and microscopic points of view. Moreover, the increased volume fraction of coarse particles leads to a more difficult formation of a shear band.

Spatial microheterogeneity and selective microbial consumption of dissolved free amino acids in an oligomesotrophic lake

AbstractWe studied the cm to m scale spatial distribution of dissolved free amino acids (DFAA) in the upper epilimnion of oligomesotrophic Lake Zurich in 14 sampling campaigns over > 3 years and at various periods of the growing season. During each campaign, 10 sets of 10 simultaneously drawn samples (10 mL, 2 cm distance) were collected from 5 m depth. DFAA concentrations varied by one to > 3 orders of magnitude within sets, providing field evidence for DFAA release from macroscopic point sources and for substantial variability of the in‐situ growth conditions of bacterioplankton metacommunities. There was a tight relationship between the median DFAA concentration per sampling campaign and the compositional heterogeneity of the 15 most common AA: their composition was similar in samples from campaigns with high median DFAA concentrations, indicating that spatial distribution patterns were mainly a result of physical mixing. By contrast, AA composition was spatially variable in campaigns with low median DFAA concentrations, and serine, aspartate, and glycine were disproportionally high in the 10% samples with highest DFAA concentrations. We hypothesized that pelagic bacteria would preferably target pulses of such locally overrepresented AA. Short‐term incubations with radiolabeled tracers revealed substantially higher microbial uptake of serine and, to a lesser extent, aspartate, than of two amino acids with consistently low in situ concentrations (leucine, isoleucine). This illustrates a “preparedness” of the bacterioplankton to preferably incorporate those AAs that are more available in DFAA hotspots.

Differentiation between Pleural Mesothelioma versus Pseudo-Mesothelioma Demonstrated in Eight Autopsy Cases

The pleural lobes are the origin of different pathologies, including malignant tumors, e.g., pleural mesothelioma. In some cases, clinical and macroscopic presentation point strongly to the diagnosis but often enough the patient has another underlying disease; malignant neoplasms of the lung as well as other organs (skin, pancreas, prostate or kidney) can mimic pleural mesothelioma and if so, are defined as ‘pseudo-mesothelioma’. We present eight cases that are clinically and macroscopically highly suspicious for pleural mesothelioma. All patients were autopsied due to medico-legal issues and work-related diseases. Six out of eight patients underwent autopsy to exclude possibility of asbestos-related malignancy and two out of eight due to exclusion of silicosis. From the eight cases, only three were real pleural mesotheliomas. Another three were adenocarcinomas of the lung mimicking pleural mesotheliomas. One had squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. Lastly, one patient had an extraordinary case of papillary renal cell carcinoma metastasizing universally in both pleura lobes. Due to striking morphological similarities, the exact final diagnosis was only possible after extended immunohistochemical analysis of the tissues. In summary, not only is it difficult to distinguish between real or pseudo pleural mesothelioma in patients having had contact with asbestos. Even patients with no evidence of asbestos contact can have clinical and pathological events strongly suggesting asbestosis and mesothelioma, without having it.

Urban Form and Natural Hazards: Exploring the Dual Aspect Concept of Urban Forms on Flood Damage

The purpose of the paper is to explore the dual aspect concept of the impact of urban forms on flood damage. Theoretically, urban form has the dual aspect concept of increasing or decreasing flood damage. Recent issues such as climate change and pandemics are increasing the need to re-discuss the relationship between urban forms and natural hazards. By revisiting the dual aspect concepts of urban forms such as aggregation and dispersion, we can effectively respond to specific urban problems that present complex issues at the city level. Accordingly, this paper once again considers what is a more resilient and ideal urban form for natural hazards by exploring dual aspect concepts of urban form for flood damage spatially and quantitatively from a macroscopic point of view.

Diabetic Foot: The Role of Fasciae, a Narrative Review.

Wound healing is an intricate, dynamic process, in which various elements such as hyperglycemia, neuropathy, blood supply, matrix turnover, wound contraction, and the microbiome all have a role in this "out of tune" diabetic complex symphony, particularly noticeable in the complications of diabetic foot. Recently it was demonstrated that the fasciae have a crucial role in proprioception, muscular force transmission, skin vascularization and tropism, and wound healing. Indeed, the fasciae are a dynamic multifaceted meshwork of connective tissue comprised of diverse cells settled down in the extracellular matrix and nervous fibers; each constituent plays a particular role in the fasciae adapting in various ways to the diverse stimuli. This review intends to deepen the discussion on the possible fascial role in diabetic wounds. In diabetes, the thickening of collagen, the fragmentation of elastic fibers, and the changes in glycosaminoglycans, in particular hyaluronan, leads to changes in the stiffness, gliding, and the distribution of force transmission in the fasciae, with cascading repercussions at the cellular and molecular levels, consequently feeding a vicious pathophysiological circle. A clear scientific perception of fascial role from microscopic and macroscopic points of view can facilitate the identification of appropriate treatment strategies for wounds in diabetes and create new perspectives of treatment.

Sacrificial Cladding with Brittle Materials for Blast Protection.

In the following work, sacrificial claddings filled with different brittle materials were investigated, from concrete foam to granular media. They were subjected to blast loading using an explosive driven shock tube, while a sensor measures the load transmission and a high speed camera records the compression of the core. From a macroscopic point of view, concrete foam and granular media can act efficiently as a crushable core but differs greatly in terms of energy dissipation mechanisms. To compare them, granular media was at first treated as a cellular material, and different key parameters (plateau stress, densification strain) were computed using the energy absorption efficiency methodology. The presented tests results, coupled with observation in literature, allow a better understanding on the crushing process of a granular media. In particular, granular media tend to work as a core even for low intensity load, contrary to more classical crushable core.

Spatial distributions of nitrogen and phosphorus losses in a basin and responses to best management practices — Jialing River Basin case study

Tracing the main sources and spatial distributions of pollutants and quantifying the effects of various factors on soil erosion and pollution loads are important to allow appropriate management systems to be developed for large complex watersheds and allow water pollution to be controlled efficiently and economically. A distributed water, sediment, and pollutant model was used to qualitatively and quantitatively assess temporal and spatial variations in water and sediment characteristics and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loss distributions in a basin from a macroscopic point of view and to trace the sources of pollutants, using the Jialing River Basin as an example. Changes in N and P losses in the basin caused by various management practices were assessed. The results indicated that the average annual water and sediment yield in the study area were 103–857 mm and 2.4–1274.1 t/ha, respectively. The loss of total N and P were 1.1–21.6 kg/ha and 0.01–11.2 kg/ha. The spatial distribution varied greatly, but the annual variation trend was relatively stable. The contribution of N from industrial point sources reached 1973 tons, which was dominant. And the total N distribution in the watershed was closely related to woodland. Total P pollution was most severe for cultivated land. The P load caused by fertilization reached 805 tons, which was significantly more than the point source discharge. Assessments of the effects of implementing various management practices in the watershed indicated that N losses would be decreased more effectively by filter belt in woodland than by other practices. The total N loss would be reduced by 4.4% for every 0.5 m filter belt added to woodland. The losses would be decreased more effectively by a cultivated land filter belt and controlling fertilizer application than by other practices. The 0.5 m filter belt of cultivated land can reduce total P by 5%, and reducing fertilization by 5% can reduce total P by 7.3%. Understanding the temporal and spatial distributions of pollutant sources in a river basin and tracing pollutant sources will allow appropriate management practices to be implemented in key areas to effectively control pollutants.

A Study on University Students’ Perception on International Development Cooperation and Global Citizenship Education

This study was conducted to understand the overall perceptions of university students toward International Development Cooperation (IDC) and global citizenship education. The results, based on survey data, are as follows.<br/>First, university students agreed on the necessity of pursuing the goals of IDC and ODA projects. They reasoned that because South Koreans had benefited from foreign aid, they had a moral responsibility to contribute to the welfare of other developing countries. The students presented a high degree of agreement on the effectiveness of IDC projects in solving global problems, but they showed reluctance to the enlargement of the projects. The study revealed that the students were less aware of “2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”<br/>Second, the study showed that undergraduates were willing to participate in IDC projects and global citizenship educations. From a macroscopic point of view, they showed an eagerness to help the poor in developing countries and be engaged in IDC projects due to their global concerns. From a microscopic view, they wanted to fulfill their sense of moral responsibility by participating in global citizenship education, which they believe might help them find a job and develop their career.<br/>Third, undergraduates recognized that universities lack proper education on IDC and need to be equipped with a more enforced educational programs. Some of the students expected to receive multifaceted and up-to-date information on IDC via liberal arts courses.

Bibliometric Analysis of the Effect of Acupuncture on Cancer Pain in the Last 20 Years

Objectives: Analyze papers on the effect of acupuncture on cancer pain from a macroscopic point of view, suggesting global trends and future research directions to promote acupuncture treatment for cancer pain.Methods: By filtering the papers searched for (acupuncture) AND (cancer pain) in the Web of Science database, 351 papers were selected and analyzed by year, field, journal, institution, author, and keyword.Results: Most papers were published in 2020, and research was active in the field of complementary and alternative medicine. Research on the effects of acupuncture in cancer pain has been active in cancer centers and university hospitals, research has been active in various countries. The most frequently mentioned keywords in the titles and abstracts were acupuncture, pain, and quality of life. The latest top 5 keywords were inhibitor-induced arthralgia, acupuncture therapy, risk factors, opioids, and recovery.Conclusions: Acupuncture treatment has the potential to reduce pain and improve quality of life in cancer patients, and it should be actively studied in the future.

On the Verification of the Pedestrian Evacuation Model

In this article we deal with numerical solution of macroscopic models of pedestrian movement. From a macroscopic point of view, pedestrian movement can be described by a system of first order hyperbolic equations similar to 2D compressible inviscid flow. For the Pedestrian Flow Equations (PFEs) the density ρ and the velocity v are considered as the unknown variables. In PFEs, the social force is also taken into account, which replaces the outer volume force term used in the fluid flow formulation, e.g., the pedestrian movement is influenced by the proximity of other pedestrians. To be concrete, the desired direction μ of the pedestrian movement is density dependent and is incorporated in the source term. The system of fluid dynamics equations is thus coupled with the equation for μ. The main message of this paper is the verification of this model. Firstly, we propose two approaches for the source term discretization. Secondly, we propose two splitting schemes for the numerical solution of the coupled system. This leads us to four different numerical methods for the PFEs. The novelty of this work is the comparative study of the numerical solutions, which shows, that all proposed methods are in the good agreement.

Анатомічна мінливість гілок системи підколінної артерії у плодів людини 4-6 місяців

The study of topographical variations of the branches of the popliteal artery in human fetuses from a macroscopic point of view in modern anatomy is considered relevant and promising. The need to study the anatomy of the terminal branches of the popliteal artery in fetuses of different ages is due to the rapid development of fetal surgery and the improvement in the performance of surgical procedures on the structures of the knee and lower leg areas, since the establishment of the anatomical variability of the vessels of the lower extremities allows choosing the optimal tactics of surgical intervention. In the literature, there are fragmentary data on the fetal topography of the popliteal artery and its branches. The purpose of the study. The study aimed to establish the topographic and anatomical features of the branches of the anterior and posterior tibial arteries in human fetuses of 4-6 months. Material and methods. The study of the fetal anatomy of the popliteal artery was carried out on 34 preparations of human fetuses (81.0-230.0 mm parietococcygeal length) using the methods of anatomical preparation, vascular injection, and morphometry. Results and discussion. In 21 examined fetuses, the classic variant of the branching of the anterior and posterior tibial arteries was observed both on the right and on the left extremity. In other fetuses, atypical variants of the origin and topography of the branches of the popliteal artery were found. The most interesting, from our point of view, was the anatomical variants of the terminal branches of the popliteal artery in fetuses of 160.0, 180.0, and 195.0 mm parietococcygeal length. A high variant of the branch of the peroneal artery from the popliteal artery; a rare variant of doubling the peroneal artery is trifurcation of the popliteal artery into the anterior and posterior tibial and peroneal arteries, doubling of the branches of the tibioperoneal trunk, as well as the formation of anastomoses between them were revealed. Among the most frequent atypical variants of the onset of the peroneal artery in the studied human fetuses was its branch from the tibioperoneal trunk. Conclusion. To obtain a clear idea of the spatial orientation of the peroneal artery in human fetuses, fetal surgeons should distinguish three segments in the peroneal artery trunk: segment I of the peroneal artery (it is proximal part) is the passage of the peroneal artery trunk in the ankle-popliteal canal; segment ІІ (middle part) corresponds to the topography of the peroneal artery in the inferior muscular-peroneal canal; the third segment of the peroneal artery (distal part) is a segment of its trunk from the point of exit from the inferior muscular-peroneal canal to the level of its division into terminal branches

Ehrenfest’s scheme and microstructure for regular-AdS black hole in the extended phase space

The regular (Bardeen)–anti-de Sitter (AdS) (BAdS) black hole (BH) in the extended phase space is taken as an example for investigating the BH phase transition grade from both macroscopic and microscopic points of view. The equation of state and thermodynamic quantities of this BH are obtained. It is found that the BAdS BH phase space in the extended phase space should be a second-order phase transition near the critical point by verifying the Ehrenfest’s equation, and the possibility of its first-order phase transition can be ruled out by the entropy continuity and the heat capacity mutation. The critical exponents from the microscopic structure are analytically and numerically presented with the Landau continuous phase transition theory by introducing a microscopic order-parameter.

A normalized score-based weighted PageRank algorithm on ranking prediction of basketball games

Ranking of sports teams has always been significant to sponsors, coaches, as well as audiences. Prevailing prediction methods investigate probabilities by taking into account of different kinds of attributes (e.g. field goals, fields goal attempts) in order to establish a detail-based mechanism for analyzing the capability among competing teams. The different types of activation and inhibition actions between athletes provide a considerable challenge in the framework of network analysis. Moreover, these attributes interactions might add up the substantial redundancy to network frame as well. This paper proposes a weighted PageRank algorithm based on the normalized basketball match scores from a macroscopic point of view. Taking Chinese Basketball Association and Chinese University Basketball Association as examples, the developed approach takes into account the win/lose nature of interactions between each pair of competing teams in the framework of PageRank network. We also evolve a weighted network model for the network matrix which highlights the capability difference of teams whose PageRank probabilities are most sensitive with respect to the scores of the two competing teams. The chance of championship of teams can be better demonstrated by the PageRank probabilities. The results show that our method achieves more precise predicting result than that of original PageRank algorithm and Hypertext-Induced Topic Search algorithm.

Different mechanical-electrochemical coupled failure mechanism and safety evaluation of lithium-ion pouch cells under dynamic and quasi-static mechanical abuse

For this study, lithium-ion pouch cells undergo quasi-static and dynamic tests and are analyzed by interdisciplinary characterization methods. These methods reveal different behaviors of the cells under mechanical-electrochemical coupled failure. The study demonstrates that the inertia effect of a cell's multilayer structure dominates the failure under dynamic loading rather than the strain rate effect of the cell's components. This finding unlocks the underlying mechanism of localized fractures near the impacted surface and counterintuitive premature failures with less critical force under dynamic loading conditions. In addition to instant failure with inflection points in force/voltage curves, this study observes an interesting delayed failure behavior without evident short-term signs in both dynamic and quasi-static tests with different mechanisms. This challenges the validity of using macroscopic inflection points in mechanical tests as indicators for failure prediction and could explain the postponed spontaneous combustion of a cell after mechanical abuse accidents. The cell's capacity and internal resistance after dynamic and quasi-static tests are also assessed. Finally, an experimental evaluation outline is proposed for lithium-ion cells under mechanical abuse. This work sheds light on the understanding of dynamic failure mechanisms and safety evaluation methods for lithium-ion cells.

Mathematical modeling of heat transfer in GO-doped reinforce polymer for anti-/deicing of wind turbines

Icing of wind turbine blades seriously affects the efficiency of wind power generation and threatens the safe operation of wind turbines. In order to improve the heat transfer efficiency of wind turbine blade anti-deicing components, a mathematical heat transfer model of graphene oxide (GO) doped reinforced polymer was established based on the thermal resistance law and the equivalent thermal conductivity. The heat transfer characteristic of glass fiber/epoxy resin (GF/EP) reinforced polymer composites modified with GO as heat transfer filler was presented by combining numerical calculation with finite element method. The correctness of the heat transfer mathematical model of GO/GF/EP composites was verified by comparing the numerical and experimental results with the finite element simulation results, which shows the maximum error is 7.11%. With the increasing of the content of GO in GO/GF/EP composites, the heat conduction paths composed of GO are formed in the composites. Thus, from the macroscopic point of view, the overall thermal conductivity of the material is greatly improved by 6.41%. The number of thermal paths in the composites is directly proportional to the content of GO. The increase of thermal conductivity channels promotes the heat transfer capacity of the composites, which making up for the low thermal conductivity of glass fiber and epoxy resin. The results show that the modification of GO can significantly improve the heat transfer performance of GF/EP composites, which can be employed in the anti−/deicing field of the wind turbine blades in the future.

Grain size altering yielding mechanisms in ultrafine grained high-Mn austenitic steel: Advanced TEM investigations

The underlying mechanism of discontinuous yielding behavior in an ultrafine-grained (UFG) Fe-31Mn-3Al-3Si (wt.%) austenitic TWIP steel was investigated by the use of advanced TEM technique with taking the plastic deformation mechanisms and their correlation with grains size near the macroscopic yield point into account. Typical yield drop mechanisms such as the dislocation locking by the Cottrell atmosphere due to the presence of interstitial impurities cannot explain the origin of this phenomenon in the UFG high-Mn austenitic TWIP steel. Here, we experimentally revealed that the plastic deformation mechanisms in the early stage of deformation, around the macroscopic yield point, show an obvious association with grain size. More specifically, the main mechanism shifts from the conventional slip in grain interior to twinning nucleated from grain boundaries with decreasing the grain size down to less than 1 μm. Our observation indicates that the grain size dependent deformation mechanisms transition is also deeply associated with the discontinuous yielding behavior as it could govern the changes in the grain interior dislocation density of mobile dislocations around the macroscopic yield point.