Source Separation Research Articles

The Water Origins of Brazil’s Nuclear Energy Infrastructure

Today, Brazil relies on nuclear energy for three per cent of its energy needs while hydroelectricity accounts for over sixty per cent. However, Brazilian officials sought to aggressively incorporate nuclear energy into the country’s energy infrastructure at any cost in the second half of the twentieth century. This article examines the connections between hydroelectric and nuclear energy development between 1960 and 1985. I argue that water resources, both shortages and excess capacity, were critical to Brazil’s nuclear energy pursuits. While scholarly attention has often focused on Brazil’s diplomatic negotiations and exploitation of the country’s uranium deposits, this article shows how droughts played a pivotal role in legitimising Brazil’s nuclear aspirations in the face of extensive hydroelectric capacity. In the process, both Brazil’s nuclear power plant and enrichment plant relied heavily on Brazilian water resources, fundamentally linking these two separate electricity sources in Brazil’s diversified energy grid to this day.

An open-source probabilistic record linkage process for records with family-level information: Simulation study and applied analysis.

Research with administrative records involves the challenge of limited information in any single data source to answer policy-related questions. Record linkage provides researchers with a tool to supplement administrative datasets with other information about the same people when identified in separate sources as matched pairs. Several solutions are available for undertaking record linkage, producing linkage keys for merging data sources for positively matched pairs of records. In the current manuscript, we demonstrate a new application of the Python RecordLinkage package to family-based record linkages with machine learning algorithms for probability scoring, which we call probabilistic record linkage for families (PRLF). First, a simulation of administrative records identifies PRLF accuracy with variations in match and data degradation percentages. Accuracy is largely influenced by degradation (e.g., missing data fields, mismatched values) compared to the percentage of simulated matches. Second, an application of data linkage is presented to compare regression model estimate performance across three record linkage solutions (PRLF, ChoiceMaker, and Link Plus). Our findings indicate that all three solutions, when optimized, provide similar results for researchers. Strengths of our process, such as the use of ensemble methods, to improve match accuracy are discussed. We then identify caveats of record linkage in the context of administrative data.

The impact of habitat and migration on plumage colour in Cardinalidae

Abstract Plumage coloration arises from a complex concert of selection pressures incorporating regional ecology, the light environment and genomic architecture. Here, we analyse the evolution of coloration in cardinals and grosbeaks (Cardinalidae) from the avian visual perspective and test the relative roles of life-history traits in shaping plumage evolution. We incorporate life-history data from three separate sources to analyse the correlated evolution of plumage coloration and ecological and habitat classifications for males and females. Our results show that males and females evolve under different axes of selection and that correlations with life-history traits differ between the sexes. We find that preferences for semi-open, fragmented habitat are correlated with male, but not female, plumage complexity. We also find that migration, long heralded as a driver of sexual dichromatism, is correlated with reduced plumage complexity in females, but not significantly correlated with male plumage coloration. Finally, our results showcase that user-defined categorical metrics can influence or, potentially, even mislead the interpretation of results, highlighting the need to measure habitat quantitatively rather than with subjective, categorical metrics.

An upgraded image encryption based on nonlinearity concept in blind source separation

An upgraded image encryption based on nonlinearity concept in blind source separation

PROVENANCE OF THE PERMIAN-TRIASSIC RED BEDS FROM THE EASTERN PART OF THE MOSCOW BASIN, EAST EUROPEAN PLATFORM: U-Pb LA-ICP-MS AND RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY DETRITAL ZIRCON DATA

We present the first systematic results of U-Pb LA-ICP-MS dating of detrital zircons from 12 samples representing different stratigraphic levels of 5 sections of the Permian-Triassic rocks, located within the eastern part of the Moscow basin (syneclise) – Zhukov ravine, Astashikha, Nedubrovo, Balebikha and Klykovo. It is shown that the accumulation of the Upper Permian and Lower Triassic terrigenous complexes occurred under the influence of competing sources with two contrasting provenance signals with Neoproterozoic (Vendian)-Paleozoic and Paleo-Mesoproterozoic ages. The identified provenance signal patterns were used to detail the correlation and stratigraphic subdivision of the Permian-Triassic terrigenous complex of the Moscow basin. Raman spectroscopy of detrital zircon, first applied to the Permian-Triassic rocks of the East European platform, made it possible to identify sedimentary complexes of a relatively older terrigenous basin as a separate source of zircons, which experienced superimposed thermal impact in the VendianCambrian time (~500–600 Ma).

A high-sugar diet, but not obesity, reduces female fertility in Drosophila melanogaster.

Obesity is linked to reduced fertility in various species, from Drosophila to humans. Considering that obesity is often induced by changes in diet or eating behavior, it remains unclear whether obesity, diet, or both reduce fertility. Here, we show that Drosophila females on a high-sugar diet become rapidly obese and less fertile as a result of increased death of early germline cysts and vitellogenic egg chambers (or follicles). They also have high glycogen, glucose and trehalose levels and develop insulin resistance in their fat bodies (but not ovaries). By contrast, females with adipocyte-specific knockdown of the anti-obesity genes brummer or adipose are obese but have normal fertility. Remarkably, females on a high-sugar diet supplemented with a separate source of water have mostly normal fertility and glucose levels, despite persistent obesity, high glycogen and trehalose levels, and fat body insulin resistance. These findings demonstrate that a high-sugar diet affects specific processes in oogenesis independently of insulin resistance, that high glucose levels correlate with reduced fertility on a high-sugar diet, and that obesity alone does not impair fertility.

GHG emissions reduction patterns from waste sectors after forced source separation

Waste management is the bridge to balance resource conservation and climate change protection, and source separation is the pre-requirement to improve the recycling rate and normal human behavior. In this work, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission patterns were investigated from waste sectors from 2016 to 2021 in Shanghai, where force MSW source separation was first implemented in China since 2019. The GHG emission in the waste sector increased from 3.06 (2016) to 9.28 (2021) Mt CO2-eq due to the increase of waste disposal amounts from 7.35 (2016) to 11.83 Mt (2021). With the implementation of forced source separation in Shanghai on July 1st, 2019, the proportion of kitchen waste and water content decreased by 37.31% and 20.74% in dry waste, resulting in the increase of low heating value (LHV) by 99.39% (13,160 kJ/kg). The waste disposal system was optimized by employing resource recycling and anaerobic digestion of wet waste, and the corresponding GHG emission intensity decreased from 0.29 to 0.24 t CO2-eq per ton MSW. Three scenario analyses, including the Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario, New Policy (NP) scenario, and Low-carbon (LC) scenario, were conducted to study the influence of the grid emission factor, wet waste disposal capacity, incineration power generation efficiency, and lower waste plastic proportion on the GHG emissions. The results showed that the GHG emission intensity would reach 0.28, 0.21, and 0.12 t CO2-eq per ton MSW in the BAU, NP, and LC scenarios. Optimizing waste disposal mode and reducing waste plastic from sourced separation was critical to reduce GHG emissions more effectively from the waste sector.

A Blind Source Separation Method Based on Bounded Component Analysis Optimized by the Improved Beetle Antennae Search.

Currently, the widely used blind source separation algorithm is typically associated with issues such as a sluggish rate of convergence and unstable accuracy, and it is mostly suitable for the separation of independent source signals. Nevertheless, source signals are not always independent of one another in practical applications. This paper suggests a blind source separation algorithm based on the bounded component analysis of the enhanced Beetle Antennae Search algorithm (BAS). Firstly, the restrictive assumptions of the bounded component analysis method are more relaxed and do not require the signal sources to be independent of each other, broadening the applicability of this blind source separation algorithm. Second, the objective function of bounded component analysis is optimized using the improved Beetle Antennae Search optimization algorithm. A step decay factor is introduced to ensure that the beetle does not miss the optimal point when approaching the target, improving the optimization accuracy. At the same time, since only one beetle is required, the optimization speed is also improved. Finally, simulation experiments show that the algorithm can effectively separate independent and dependent source signals and can be applied to blind source separation of images. Compared to traditional blind source separation algorithms, it has stronger universality and has faster convergence speed and higher accuracy compared to the original independent component analysis algorithm.

Legitimacy of source-separating wastewater systems with Swedish water utilities

Nutrient management is one of the critical challenges for developing sustainable circular economies in cities. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from our food end up in our wastewater and pose an environmental threat when they are released in waterways. Yet, these nutrients are essential for crop production and food security. Hince human excreta contains the bulk of nutrients going through the urban ecosystem. Source separation of excreta from the rest of urban wastewater flows can enable safe and efficient nutrient recovery. Yet, source-separating wastewater systems are not yet common in urban areas. The aim of this study is to assess the legitimacy of source-separating wastewater systems from the perspective of wastewater professionals in Sweden. The study uses interviews and a survey to explore the pragmatic, normative, cognitive and regulatory dimensions of legitimacy and how these aspects can vary between different municipalities. Finally, it looks into possible knowledge-based activities to increase legitimacy. The results from this study show variations in legitimacy levels in urban areas in Sweden. Overall opinion appears to be neutral to the concept rather than negative. Although many see multiple barriers to implementation. Normative legitimacy (moral motivation) was relatively high, while cognitive legitimacy (knowledge & experiences) was lowest. Respondents from organizations where source-separation is being implemented, or they believe that it will be implemented within 10 years, generally saw more drivers and fewer barriers. These innovators were also more interested in knowledge-based activities. Overall recommendations to increase cognitive knowledge regarding source-separating systems among multiple stakeholders seems the most promising path forward to increase legitimacy in the Swedish wastewater sector.

Does the new municipal solid waste management regulation promote residents' waste separation behaviour? Evidence from survey data in Beijing, China.

Waste source separation is an essential section of successful municipal solid waste management, and the city governments in China are shifting from building massive waste treatment facilities to regulating residents' waste separation behaviour (WSB). In order to promote residents' WSB, Beijing, the capital of China, implemented the new version of municipal household waste management regulation (NEMAR) and allocated more funds. This article constructs a theoretical framework to analyse the relationship between the NEMAR and residents' WSB from the perspective of policy tools, and uses propensity score matching method to evaluate the NEMAR's effectiveness on promoting residents' WSB, with first-hand data collected by distributing two rounds of questionnaires in Beijing. Results show that the NEMAR in Beijing have significantly improved the frequency and accuracy of residents' WSB. The command-control tools such as fines are effective to enhance WSB. The information guidance tools such as propaganda in community publicity column, banner and brochure could significantly promote residents' WSB frequency. Training seminars could enhance residents' WSB accuracy. The economic incentive tools are ineffective, and the policy of direct material rewards even hampers residents' WSB. This research reveals the effectiveness of the new policy and different tools in promoting residents' WSB. It could provide evidence for policymakers to utilize more effective governing tools and optimize the allocation of public resources.

A survey of artificial intelligence approaches in blind source separation

In various signal processing applications, such as audio signal recovery, the extraction of desired signals from a mixture of other signals is a crucial task. To achieve superior performance and efficiency in separator systems, extensive research has been conducted. Blind source separation emerges as a relevant technique to address the challenge of separating and reconstructing unknown signals when only observations of their mixtures are available to end-users. Blind source separation involves retrieving a set of independent source signals mixed by an unknown and potentially destructive combining system. Notably, the separation process in blind source separation frameworks solely relies on observing the mixed sources without prior knowledge of the mixing algorithm or the source signal characteristics. The significance of blind source separation has garnered substantial attention, and its numerous applications have been demonstrated, which serves as the primary motivation for conducting this comprehensive study. This paper presents a systematic literature survey of blind source separation, encompassing existing methods, approaches, and applications, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence-based frameworks. Through a thorough review and examination, this work sheds light on the diverse techniques utilized in blind source separation and their performance in real-world scenarios. The study identifies research gaps in the current literature, highlighting areas that warrant further investigation and improvement. Moreover, potential avenues for future research are outlined to contribute to the ongoing development of blind source separation techniques.

Blind Source Separation of Spectrally Filtered Geochemical Signals to Recognize Multi-depth Ore-Related Enrichment Patterns

Blind Source Separation of Spectrally Filtered Geochemical Signals to Recognize Multi-depth Ore-Related Enrichment Patterns

Climate impacts of source-separated biowaste from small neighbourhoods in Finland based on pilot experiments for novel biowaste collection systems

The climate impacts of biowaste collection and utilisation were assessed based on data from two regional pilots. The EU’s waste legislation will require biowaste source separation and collection from detached houses in communities with over 10,000 inhabitants starting from 2024 onwards. Two novel biowaste collection approaches were piloted in two Finnish case regions. One with biowaste collection to larger biolinks with a van and another with composting biowaste bins. The biolink approach reduces the need for waste truck driving, while composting biowaste bins enable an extended collection period. A life cycle assessment method was applied to assess the climate impacts of biowaste collection options and utilisation compared with current practices. The results show that source separation of biowaste and direction to biogas production leads to lower overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the system level compared with the current waste incineration option. Waste logistics has only a minor role in total GHG emissions, but a system based on biolinks and biowaste collection using a van led to the lowest GHG emission levels. Therefore, from a GHG emissions perspective, encouraging people to source separate their biowaste should be made as easy and encouraging as possible, no matter how the actual logistics is provided. However, novel and improved approaches for source-separated biowaste collection provide the potential for additional GHG emissions reductions.

Madrasa “Qazanli” on the pages of the Tatar periodical press of the beginning of the early 20<sup>th</sup> century

The work considers the problem of coverage in the Tatar periodical press at the beginning of the 20th century of some features of the activity of the Qazanli (قزانلى) madrasah. It was opened at the end of the 19th century in the city of Medina especially for the Tatar youths of the Volga-Ural region. The article touches upon the issue of the material support of the madrasah, which was of most interest to the Tatar public at the beginning of the 20th century. The madrasah was built at the expense of Kazan merchants, it was maintained by Russian Muslims. However, Tatar intellectuals believed that the invested funds did not justify their purpose; with this money, dozens of schools could be opened in the homeland, and they would bring more benefits to the nation than the Qazanli madrassah. The materials of the Tatar periodical press of the beginning of the 20th century were used in the work. Separate sources are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.

Threefold manuscripts: the nine texts of the Florentine Codex

ABSTRACT To understand the manuscript creation process practiced by Indigenous intellectuals in the Americas this essay examines the work of the Nahua scholars who, along with Bernardino de Sahagún, created the Florentine Codex (1575–1577). Now fundamental to studies of the Codex is an evaluation of its three ‘texts’: the Nahuatl-language alphabetic text, the Spanish-language annotations including loose translations, and its bountiful images. Two sources served as iterative kinds of drafts for the Codex project: the Primeros memoriales (1558–1561) and the Manuscrito de Tlatelolco (1561–1566). Each of the manuscripts contains its own three texts, thus they are threefold, that enable an examination of nine separate but interrelated source texts. In considering the differences among the cumulative nine texts, this article uncovers new insights into an unstudied process of negotiation between the Nahua scholars, the elders whom they consulted, and their Spanish colleagues. As sites of mediation among colonial actors, the threefold manuscripts manifest on their folios the competing interests and agendas that shaped the production of knowledge in New Spain.

Computation of spherical sector harmonics norm with application to blind source separation.

Spherical microphone arrays (SMAs) are widely being used for source localization and separation. However, it is uneconomical to build a full SMA when sources are present in restricted regions of environment. Hence, a spherical sector microphone array is utilized for blind source separation for the first time. In particular, the norm of the spherical sector harmonics basis function is computed for mixing matrix estimation. The estimated steering vectors are clustered using mean-shift algorithm. The number of sources is estimated automatically from the number of clusters. The developed mathematical framework is verified using various simulations and experiments on real data.

Multipitch estimation based on the iterative detection and separation of note events from single-channel polyphonic recordings.

Multiple fundamental frequency estimation has been extensively used in applications such as melody extraction, music transcription, instrument identification, and source separation. This paper presents an approach based on the iterative detection and extraction of note events, which are considered to be harmonic sounds characterised by a continuous pitch trajectory. Note events are assumed to be associated with musical notes being played by a single instrument, and their pitch trajectories are iteratively estimated. In every iteration, the pitch contour of the predominant note event is selected from a set of pitch estimates and used to separate its spectral energy from the input mixture in order to obtain a residual signal, which is then used as input in the next iteration. This iterative process stops when the energy of the residual is below a significance threshold. The pitch trajectories of all detected note events are then revised and reassembled to form the final set of pitch estimates for the original audio input. Evaluation of performance is conducted in different scenarios to show the potential of the proposed system, both in terms of its accuracy, and also as an initial stage in other complex tasks, such as note tracking and multipitch streaming.

Application range of crosstalk-affected spatial demultiplexing for resolving separations between unbalanced sources

Super resolution is one of the key issues at the crossroads of contemporary quantum optics and metrology. Recently, it was shown that for an idealized case of two balanced sources, spatial mode demultiplexing (SPADE) achieves resolution better than direct imaging even in the presence of measurement crosstalk (Gessner et al 2020 Phys. Rev. Lett. 125 100501). In this work, we consider arbitrarily unbalanced sources and provide a systematic analysis of the impact of crosstalk on the resolution obtained from SPADE. As we dissect, in this generalized scenario, SPADE’s effectiveness depends non-trivially on the strength of crosstalk, relative brightness and the separation between the sources. In particular, for any source imbalance, SPADE performs worse than ideal direct imaging in the asymptotic limit of vanishing source separations. Nonetheless, for realistic values of crosstalk strength, SPADE is still the superior method for several orders of magnitude of source separations.

When and where to listen?

In natural listening environments, humans hear multiple concurrent sounds arriving from different locations. In order to attend to a single source, concurrent sounds must be separated into individual sound objects, a process that relies on binaural hearing. However, the fluctuating binaural cues that arise when sounds from multiple sources merge at each ear generate fluctuating binaural cues that may be unreliable as to source location. This reliability can be quantified in terms of the interaural coherence (IAC). To overcome unreliable binaural cues, it is suggested that the brain monitors IAC and extracts spatial information from sound energy during epochs where IAC is high. To test this hypothesis, we designed a stimulus allowing us to modulate IAC over time and frequency. Our data indicate that IAC weighting plays a relatively minor role in source separation. Rather, binaural cues only contribute to source localization during rising sound energy. Binaural cues in later epochs of a modulated sound waveform are completely ignored even when IAC is high and spans a wide frequency range. The data do not support weighting based on IAC but, rather, suggest a fast, “non-sluggish” processing of binaural cues to extract information only during the rising energy envelope.

Miscellaneous Naturally Derived Anticancer Agents

Abstract: Secondary metabolites of natural origin exhibit numerous pharmacological activities, like anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. Lipid peroxidation has been observed to be prevented by terminating free radical chains and chelating redox active metal ions. These properties of the secondary products can also aid in preventing carcinoma. Many traditional and emerging plants are blessed with plenty of unexplored phytometabolites, which contain the probability to carry huge antineoplastic potential. Acetogenins are anticancer compounds that kill tumor cells through a variety and series of developmental methods. They are very powerful apoptosis inducers that can regulate the exclusion of chemotherapy medicines from cancer cells. Chalcone is a pharmacologically active molecule that can be found in both natural and manufactured products. Marine species, which are also examples of naturally derived drug sources, such as algae, sponges, tunicates, and bryozoans, have emerged as important components of choice for the separation of novel anticancer drugs obtained from marine sources. Bacteria of marine origin are the source of new drug discoveries and therapeutic targets, which are being explored to unprecedented heights, and they have proven to be sources of various medicinal agents, such as antibiotics, etc. Numerous secondary metabolites have been isolated from marine fungi that were active biologically, structurally unique, and also therapeutically beneficial. So far, almost 1000 secondary metabolites have been found, the majority of which are exclusive to lichens. This mini-review discusses different aspects related to the natural derivatives obtained from various sources, which play a pivotal role as anti-neoplastic agents.