Graph Neural Network Backend for Speaker Recognition

Currently, most speaker recognition backends, such as cosine, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), or probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA), make decisions by calculating similarity or distance between enrollment and test embeddings which are already extracted from neural networks. However, for each embedding, the local structure of itself and its neighbor embeddings in the low-dimensional space is different, which may be helpful for the recognition but is often ignored. In order to take advantage of it, we propose a graph neural network (GNN) backend to mine latent relationships among embeddings for classification. We assume all the embeddings as nodes on a graph, and their edges are computed based on some similarity function, such as cosine, LDA+cosine, or LDA+PLDA. We study different graph settings and explore variants of GNN to find a better message passing and aggregation way to accomplish the recognition task. Experimental results on NIST SRE14 i-vector challenging, VoxCeleb1-O, VoxCeleb1-E, and VoxCeleb1-H datasets demonstrate that our proposed GNN backends significantly outperform current mainstream methods

Numerical analyses of wire-plate electrohydrodynamic flows

We present numerical analyses of 2-D electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flows of a dielectric liquid between a wire electrode and two plate electrodes with a Poiseuille flow, using direct numerical simulation and global stability analysis. Both conduction and injection mechanisms for charge generation are considered. In this work, we focused on the intensity of the cross-flow and studied the EHD flows without a cross-flow, with a weak cross-flow and with a strong cross-flow. (1)In the case without a cross-flow, we investigated its nonlinear flow structures and linear dynamics. We found that the flow in the conduction regime is steady, whereas the flow in the injection regime is oscillatory, which can be explained by a global stability analysis. (2)The EHD flow with a weak cross-flow is closely related to the flow phenomena in electrostatic precipitator (ESP). Our analyses indicate that increasing the cross-flow intensity or the electric Reynolds number leads to a less stable flow. Based on these results, we infer that one should adopt a relatively low voltage and weak cross-flow in the wire-plate EHD flow to avoid flow instability, which may hold practical implications for ESP. (3)The case of strong cross-flow is examined to study the EHD effect on the wake flow. By comparing the conventional cylindrical wake with the EHD wake in linear and nonlinear regimes, we found that the EHD effect brings forward the vortex shedding in wake flows. Besides, the EHD effect reduces the drag coefficient when the cross-flow is weak, but increases it when it is strong

Transferable Attack for Semantic Segmentation

We analysis performance of semantic segmentation models wrt. adversarial attacks, and observe that the adversarial examples generated from a source model fail to attack the target models. i.e The conventional attack methods, such as PGD and FGSM, do not transfer well to target models, making it necessary to study the transferable attacks, especially transferable attacks for semantic segmentation. We find two main factors to achieve transferable attack. Firstly, the attack should come with effective data augmentation and translation-invariant features to deal with unseen models. Secondly, stabilized optimization strategies are needed to find the optimal attack direction. Based on the above observations, we propose an ensemble attack for semantic segmentation to achieve more effective attacks with higher transferability. The source code and experimental results are publicly available via our project page: https://github.com/anucvers/TASS.Comment: Source code is available at: https://github.com/anucvers/TAS

RealCustom: Narrowing Real Text Word for Real-Time Open-Domain Text-to-Image Customization

Text-to-image customization, which aims to synthesize text-driven images for the given subjects, has recently revolutionized content creation. Existing works follow the pseudo-word paradigm, i.e., represent the given subjects as pseudo-words and then compose them with the given text. However, the inherent entangled influence scope of pseudo-words with the given text results in a dual-optimum paradox, i.e., the similarity of the given subjects and the controllability of the given text could not be optimal simultaneously. We present RealCustom that, for the first time, disentangles similarity from controllability by precisely limiting subject influence to relevant parts only, achieved by gradually narrowing real text word from its general connotation to the specific subject and using its cross-attention to distinguish relevance. Specifically, RealCustom introduces a novel "train-inference" decoupled framework: (1) during training, RealCustom learns general alignment between visual conditions to original textual conditions by a novel adaptive scoring module to adaptively modulate influence quantity; (2) during inference, a novel adaptive mask guidance strategy is proposed to iteratively update the influence scope and influence quantity of the given subjects to gradually narrow the generation of the real text word. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate the superior real-time customization ability of RealCustom in the open domain, achieving both unprecedented similarity of the given subjects and controllability of the given text for the first time. The project page is https://corleone-huang.github.io/realcustom/.Comment: Accepted by CVPR202

A holling type II discrete switching host-parasitoid system with a nonlinear threshold policy for integrated pest management

A nonlinear discrete switching host-parasitoid model with Holling type II functional response function, in which the switch is guided by an economic threshold (ET), is proposed. Thus, if the weighted density of two generations of the host population increases and exceeds the ET, then integrated pest management (IPM) measures are enacted, i.e., biological and chemical measures are implemented together, assuming that the chemical immediately precedes the biological inputs to avoid pesticide-induced deaths of the natural enemies. First, the existence and local stability of the equilibria of two subsystems were studied, and the existence and coexistence of several types of equilibria of a nonlinear switching system were analysed. Next, the nonlinear switching system was investigated by numerical simulation, showing that the system exhibits quite complex dynamic behaviour. A two-dimensional bifurcation diagram revealed the existence and coexistence regions of different types of equilibria including regular and virtual equilibria. Moreover, period-adding bifurcations in two-dimensional parameter spaces were found. One dimensional bifurcation diagrams revealed that the system has periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic solutions, Neimark–Sacker bifurcation, multiple coexisting attractors, period-doubling bifurcations, period-halving bifurcations, and so on. Finally, the initial densities of hosts and parasitoids associated with host outbreaks and their biological implications are discussed

Cardiac abnormalities after induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and connexin43 expression

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is responsible for protein synthesis and calcium storage. ER stress, reflected by protein unfolding and calcium handling abnormalities, has been studied as a pathogenic factor in cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of ER stress on mechanical and electrophysiological functions in the heart and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. A total of 30 rats were randomly divided into control, ER stress inducer (tunicamycin[TN]) and ER stress inhibitor (tunicamycin+4-phenylbutyric acid [4-PBA]) groups. ER stress induction led to significantly systolic and diastolic dysfunction as reflected by maximal increasing/decreasing rate of left intraventricular pressure (±dp/dt), left ventricular peaksystolic pressure(LVSP) and LV end-diastolic pressure(LVEDP). Epicardial mapping performed in vivo revealed reduced conduction velocity and increased conduction heterogeneity associated with the development of spontaneous ventricular tachycardia. Masson’s trichrome staining revealed marked fibrosis in the myocardial interstitial and sub-pericardial regions, and thickened epicardium. Western blot analysis revealed increased pro-fibrotic factor transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), decreased mitochondrial biogenesis protein peroxlsome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactlvator-1α （PGC-1a）, and decreased mitochondrial fusion protein mitofusin-2 (MFN2). These changes were associated with mitochondria dysfunction and connexin 43(CX43)translocation to mitochondria. These abnormalities can be partially prevented by the ER stress inhibitor 4-PBA. Our study shows that ER stress induction can produce cardiac electrical and mechanism dysfunction as well as structural remodelling. Mitochondrial function alterations are contributed by CX43 transposition to mitochondria. These abnormalities can be partially prevented by the ER stress inhibitor 4-PBA

The silent spread: exploring diverse metastatic pathways in high-grade serous ovarian cancer

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is a highly aggressive and deadly gynecological cancer, with metastasis being a key factor in its poor prognosis. Historically, HGSOC was thought to spread primarily through the peritoneal cavity, but recent research has revealed additional routes of metastasis, including the blood and lymphatic systems. This review discusses the complex processes of HGSOC metastasis, focusing on peritoneal immune suppression, stromal reprogramming, and the role of circulating tumor cells in blood-based spread. We also explore the clinical significance of lymphatic metastasis, particularly its impact on patient outcomes. Gaining insight into molecular and genetic drivers, such as BRCA mutations and interactions within the immune microenvironment, is essential for developing targeted treatments. Future studies should aim to enhance experimental models, identify early detection markers, and investigate novel therapeutic approaches to effectively address HGSOC metastasis and improve patient survival

Can senior executive characteristics improve carbon emission performance? Evidence from China

In recent years, the backbone of China's market economy has involved controlling corporate carbon emissions and reducing environmental pollution. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the characteristics of senior managers and the carbon emission performance of enterprises. The empirical study used panel data on high-emission industries operating in the China A-shares market from 2014 to 2017. The results showed that the natural age, education level, and professional background of senior managers in high-emission enterprises were negatively correlated with the carbon emission performance of enterprises. However, in the case of large enterprises, there is no strong relationship between the natural age of executives and carbon emission performance, while professional background and education level are negatively correlated with carbon emission performance. However, natural age is significantly related to carbon emission performance in small and medium-sized enterprises. In the regional classification of enterprises, the natural age and professional background of the core executives of high-emitting enterprises in the eastern region are negatively correlated with carbon emission performance, while the professional background of the core executives of high-emitting enterprises in the central and western regions is positively correlated with carbon emission performance. Moreover, the natural age and educational level of executives are negatively correlated with carbon emission performance. To measure the carbon emission performance of an enterprise, the study used the balanced scorecard evaluation system (CEP). Meanwhile, it innovatively classifies and sorts the sample companies based on their overall size and distribution area, and analyzes the carbon performance and executive characteristics from two perspectives. The study provides suggestions and countermeasures for companies in China, especially those in high-emission industries, to help reduce pollution