Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Segregation of Speakers for Speaker Adaptation in TV News Audio

Speaker adaptation is commonly used to compensate speaker variation in large vocabulary continuous speech recognition. In a multi-speaker environment where speakers change frequently speaker segregation is needed to divide the input audio stream to speaker turns. Speaker turns define the current speaker at each time and speaker adaptation can thus be done based on speaker turns. The novelty of this paper is that the speaker-specific transformations are estimated incrementally and in tandem with speaker segregation. Therefore we need a transformation that can be reliably estimated based on one speaker turn alone. We propose the constrained maximum likelihood linear regression (CMLLR) for this. In testing with Finnish TV news audio, speaker adaptation reduced the average letter error rate 25% relative to baseline.
Homologs of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases acylate carrier proteins and provide a link between ribosomal and nonribosomal peptide synthesis

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) are ancient and evolutionary conserved enzymes catalyzing the formation of aminoacyl-tRNAs, that are used as substrates for ribosomal protein biosynthesis. In addition to full length aaRS genes, genomes of many organisms are sprinkled with truncated genes encoding single-domain aaRS-like proteins, which often have relinquished their canonical role in genetic code translation. We have identified the genes for putative seryl-tRNA synthetase homologs widespread in bacterial genomes and characterized three of them biochemically and structurally. The proteins encoded are homologous to the catalytic domain of highly diverged, atypical seryl-tRNA synthetases (aSerRSs) found only in methanogenic archaea and are deprived of the tRNA-binding domain. Remarkably, in comparison to SerRSs, aSerRS homologs display different and relaxed amino acid specificity. aSerRS homologs lack canonical tRNA aminoacylating activity and instead transfer activated amino acid to phosphopantetheine prosthetic group of putative carrier proteins, whose genes were identified in the genomic surroundings of aSerRS homologs. Detailed kinetic analysis confirmed that aSerRS homologs aminoacylate these carrier proteins efficiently and specifically. Accordingly, aSerRS homologs were renamed amino acid:[carrier protein] ligases (AMP forming). The enzymatic activity of aSerRS homologs is reminiscent of adenylation domains in nonribosomal peptide synthesis, and thus they represent an intriguing link between programmable ribosomal protein biosynthesis and template-independent nonribosomal peptide synthesis.
Compatibility Among Host-Specialized Isolates of Heterobasidion annosum from Western North America

Harrington, T. C. , Worrall, J. J., and Rizzo, D. M. 1989. Compatibility among host-specialized isolates of Heterobasidion annosum from western North America. Phytopathology 79:290-296. Host-specialization of isolates of Heterobasidion annosum from from another 18 trees and stumps in Pacific Coast states also fell into the S California was previously demonstrated by inoculating Pinus ponderosa and P groups based on compatibility; those from diseased pine trees were and Abies concolor (white fir) seedlings in the greenhouse. In the present P-compatible and those from other host genera were S-compatible. study, 18 of these isolates were tested for sexual compatibility in hetero- However, compatibility of isolates and strains from stumps with S and P karyon-homokaryon pairings with six S and four P tester strains of H. testers was not consistent with the host genus, indicating that stump annosum from Europe representing two intersterility groups. colonization can be non-host specific. When North American strains were Compatibility was determined by the presence of clamp connections in paired among themselves or with heterokaryotic isolates, the two subcultures from the homokaryotic tester mycelia taken 5 wk after pairing, compatibility groups were less evident than when European strains were The nine isolates specialized to fir seedlings were compatible with S testers, used. Reports thus far suggest that both the S-compatible and Pand the nine isolates specialized to pine seedlings were compatible with P compatible groups are widespread in western North America, but only the testers. Some P-compatible isolates formed clamps with a few S testers. P group has been reported in eastern North America. Heterokaryotic isolates and homokaryotic (single-basidiospore) strains
Leukocytes influence peripheral tissue oxygenation and perfusion in neonates

Background. Leukocyte counts may influence peripheral (micro) circulation due to changes in rheology. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association between leukocyte counts and peripheral tissue oxygenation/perfusion measured with near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in term and preterm neonates.Methods. In this observational study we included term and preterm neonates within the first 2 months of life, in whom perip-heral tissue NIRS measurements were performed and blood samples (leukocytes and C reactive protein (CRP)) taken to investigate clinical signs of infection. Tissue-oxygenation index (TOI), fractional oxygen extraction (FTEO), oxygen delivery (DO2), oxygen consumption (VO2) and vascular resistance (VR) were measured by NIRS and venous occlusion method. TOI, FTOE, DO2, VO2 and VR were correlated to leukocyte counts on the same day and maximal CRP levels within 24 hours (CRP max). Results. In 180 infants, with a mean gestational age of 35.5±3.3 weeks, leukocyte counts were 16546± 8830/􀀁l (median 14830; range 1790 to 67840) and CRP max was 8.0± 19.0 mg/l (median 0.0; range 0.0 to 110.0mg/l). TOI was 71.1±5.5%, FTOE 28.5±6.1%, DO2 46.7±19.7, VO2 12.5±4.4 and VR 11.7±6.4. Leukocyte counts correlated negatively (r= -0.21; p= 0.005) with TOI and positively (r=0.17; p=0.029) with VR. Correlations with CRP max did not reach significance.Conclusion. We demonstrated that peripheral tissue oxygen consumption decreases and vascular resistance increases with increasing leukocyte counts.
Full title : Reduced bone mineral density in HIV-infected patients : prevalence and associated factors , ANRS CO 3 Aquitaine cohort Short title : Reduced bone mineral density in HIV patients

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Reduced bone mineral density in HIV-infected patients: prevalence and associated factors. Charles Cazanave, Michel Dupon, Valérie Lavignolle-Aurillac, Nicole Barthe, Sylvie Lawson-Ayayi, Nadia Mehsen, Patrick Mercié, Philippe Morlat, Rodolphe Thiébaut, Francois Dabis, et al.
Absence of siderophore activity in Legionella species grown in iron-deficient media

Growth of Legionella species in a defined medium deficient in iron did not result in the production of phenolic or hydroxamate siderophores which could be detected by chemical or biological assay methods. Growth of a variety of other gram-negative organisms under the same conditions resulted in the production of both hydroxamate and phenolate siderophores. The iron-deficient medium limited growth of the Legionella species more severely than it did the growth of the other gram-negative organisms. We have concluded that Legionella species do not make the commonly recognized siderophores, probably because they are restricted in their growth to those environments in which inorganic iron is readily available or is supplied in a form bound to an unknown carrier.
The association between obesity, cardiometabolic disease biomarkers, and innate immunity-related inflammation in Canadian adults

Introduction Obesity is associated with a state of chronic inflammation, and increased cardiometabolic disease risk. The present study examined the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and cardiometabolic and inflammatory biomarkers among normal weight, overweight, and obese Canadian adults. Methods Subjects (n = 1805, aged 18 to 79 years) from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) were examined for associations between BMI, cardiometabolic markers (apolipoprotein [Apo] A1, ApoB, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C], high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], total cholesterol, total cholesterol/HDL ratio [total:HDL-C ratio], triglycerides, and glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c]), inflammatory factors (C-reactive protein [CRP], fibrinogen, and homocysteine), and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]. Bootstrap weights for variance and sampling weights for point estimates were applied to account for the complex survey design. Linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, physical activity, smoking status, and ethnicity (in addition to season of clinic visit, for vitamin D analyses only) were used to examine the association between cardiometabolic markers, inflammatory factors, and BMI in Canadian adults. Results All biomarkers were significantly associated with BMI (P ≤ 0.001). ApoA1 (β = −0.31, P < 0.0001), HDL-C (β = −0.61, P < 0.0001), and 25(OH)D (β = −0.25, P < 0.0001) were inversely associated with BMI, while all other biomarkers showed positive linear associations. Distinct patterns of association were noted among normal weight, overweight, and obese groups, excluding CRP which showed a significant positive association with BMI in the overall population (β = 2.80, P < 0.0001) and in the normal weight (β = 3.20, P = 0.02), overweight (β = 3.53, P = 0.002), and obese (β = 2.22, P = 0.0002) groups. Conclusions There is an apparent profile of cardiometabolic and inflammatory biomarkers that emerges as BMI increases from normal weight to obesity. Understanding these profiles may permit developing an effective approach for early risk prediction for cardiometabolic disease.
Passivity-based output synchronization in SE(3)

In this paper, we address an output synchronization problem in the Special Euclidean group of dimension three (SE(3)) under the situation that rigid-bodies modeled in SE(3) exchange information along strongly connected graphs. We develop a velocity control law, which is defined only by local information i.e. information of neighbors on position errors and relative orientations. The achievement of the output synchronization and hence the convergence of all the rigid- bodies to any prescribed trajectory is proven by using a property called passivity. Our results are also extended to the case with delays in communication among rigid-bodies. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the present input through numerical simulations and experiments.
[Inhibitor of plasminogen activator 1 (PAI-1) in hepatocellular carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE To study the expression of the type-1 inhibitor of plasminogen activator (PAI-1) on protein and mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and the relation between PAI-1 and biological behaviour of HCC. METHOD The tumor specimens of HCC (n = 48) and benign liver tumor (contorl n = 12) were tested by immunohistochemistry for the expression of PAI-1 protein. The tumor specimens of HCC (n = 20) and normal liver tissue (contorl n = 5) were evaluated by Northern blot analysis for the expression of PAI-1 mRNA. RESULT PAI-1 protein and PAI-1 mRNA were higher in tumor cell than in the marginal tissue of tumor and in control (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05). In deaths 2 years after surgery, PAI-1 was increased as compared to the survival group (P < 0.05). When negative PAI-1 conupared with positive urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and positive uPA receptor (uPAR). The nambeigs invasion case increased, the difference was more significant than that in the group with negative PAI-1, uPA and uPAR (P = 0.039). CONCLUSION The expression of PAI-1 protein and PAI-1 mRNA is increased in HCC. PAI-1 contributes to the invasion, metastasis and prognosis of HCC.
Efficient keyword search for smallest LCAs in XML databases

Keyword search is a proven, user-friendly way to query HTML documents in the World Wide Web. We propose keyword search in XML documents, modeled as labeled trees, and describe corresponding efficient algorithms. The proposed keyword search returns the set of smallest trees containing all keywords, where a tree is designated as "smallest" if it contains no tree that also contains all keywords. Our core contribution, the Indexed Lookup Eager algorithm, exploits key properties of smallest trees in order to outperform prior algorithms by orders of magnitude when the query contains keywords with significantly different frequencies. The Scan Eager variant is tuned for the case where the keywords have similar frequencies. We analytically and experimentally evaluate two variants of the Eager algorithm, along with the Stack algorithm [13]. We also present the XKSearch system, which utilizes the Indexed Lookup Eager, Scan Eager and Stack algorithms and a demo of which on DBLP data is available at http://www.db. ucsd.edu/projects/xksearch. Finally, we extend the Indexed Lookup Eager algorithm to answer Lowest Common Ancestor (LCA) queries.
Crowd translator: on building localized speech recognizers through micropayments

We present a method to expand the number of languages covered by simple speech recognizers. Enabling speech recognition in users' primary languages greatly extends the types of mobile-phone-based applications available to people in developing regions. We describe how we expand language corpora through user-supplied speech contributions, how we quickly evaluate each contribution, and how we pay contributors for their work.
Chloroplast Phosphoglycerate Kinase Is Involved in the Targeting of Bamboo mosaic virus to Chloroplasts in Nicotiana benthamiana Plants1[OPEN]

The BaMV RNA binds to chloroplast phosphoglycerate kinase and is targeted to chloroplast for replication. The Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV) is a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Previously, we identified that the chloroplast phosphoglycerate kinase (chl-PGK) from Nicotiana benthamiana is one of the viral RNA binding proteins involved in the BaMV infection cycle. Because chl-PGK is transported to the chloroplast, we hypothesized that chl-PGK might be involved in viral RNA localization in the chloroplasts. To test this hypothesis, we constructed two green fluorescent protein (GFP)-fused mislocalized PGK mutants, the transit peptide deletion mutant (NO TRANSIT PEPTIDE [NOTP]-PGK-GFP) and the nucleus location mutant (nuclear location signal [NLS]-PGK-GFP). Using confocal microscopy, we demonstrated that NOTP-PGK-GFP and NLS-PGK-GFP are localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus, respectively, in N. benthamiana plants. When NOTP-PGK-GFP and NLS-PGK-GFP are transiently expressed, we observed a reduction in BaMV coat protein accumulation to 47% and 27% that of the wild-type PGK-GFP, respectively. To localize viral RNA in infected cells, we employed the interaction of NLS-GFP-MS2 (phage MS2 coat protein) with the modified BaMV RNA containing the MS2 coat protein binding sequence. Using confocal microscopy, we observed that BaMV viral RNA localizes to chloroplasts. Furthermore, elongation factor1a fused with the transit peptide derived from chl-PGK or with a Rubisco small subunit can partially restore BaMV accumulation in NbPGK1-knockdown plants by helping BaMV target chloroplasts.
Elongated phytoglycogen chain length in transgenic rice endosperm expressing active starch synthase IIa affects the altered solubility and crystallinity of the storage α-glucan

The relationship between the solubility, crystallinity, and length of the unit chains of plant storage α-glucan was investigated by manipulating the chain length of α-glucans accumulated in a rice mutant. Transgenic lines were produced by introducing a cDNA for starch synthase IIa (SSIIa) from an indica cultivar (SSIIa I, coding for active SSIIa) into an isoamylase1 (ISA1)-deficient mutant (isa1) that was derived from a japonica cultivar (bearing inactive SSIIa proteins). The water-soluble fraction accounted for >95% of the total α-glucan in the isa1 mutant, whereas it was only 35–70% in the transgenic SSIIa I /isa1 lines. Thus, the α-glucans from the SSIIa I /isa1 lines were fractionated into soluble and insoluble fractions prior to the following characterizations. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed a weak B-type crystallinity for the α-glucans of the insoluble fraction, while no crystallinity was confirmed for α-glucans in isa1. Concerning the degree of polymerization (DP) ≤30, the chain lengths of these α-glucans differed significantly in the order of SSIIa I /isa1 insoluble > SSIIa I /isa1 soluble > α-glucans in isa1. The amount of long chains with DP ≥33 was higher in the insoluble fraction α-glucans than in the other two α-glucans. No difference was observed in the chain length distributions of the β-amylase limit dextrins among these α-glucans. These results suggest that in the SSIIa I /isa1 transgenic lines, the unit chains of α-glucans were elongated by SSIIaI, whereas the expression of SSIIaI did not affect the branch positions. Thus, the observed insolubility and crystallinity of the insoluble fraction can be attributed to the elongated length of the outer chains due to SSIIaI.
Effects of oral sodium bicarbonate in patients with CKD.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Metabolic acidosis contributes to muscle breakdown in patients with CKD, but whether its treatment improves functional outcomes is unknown. The choice of dose and tolerability of high doses remain unclear. In CKD patients with mild acidosis, this study evaluated the dose-response relationship of alkali with serum bicarbonate, its side effect profile, and its effect on muscle strength. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS In this single-blinded pilot study from March of 2009 to August of 2010, 20 adults with estimated GFR 15-45 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) and serum bicarbonate 20-24 mEq/L were treated during successive 2-week periods with placebo followed by escalating oral NaHCO3 doses (0.3, 0.6, and 1.0 mEq/kg per day). At each visit, handgrip strength and time required to complete 5 and 10 repetitions of a sit-to-stand test were measured. RESULTS Each 0.1 mEq/kg per day increase in dose produced a 0.33 mEq/L (95% confidence interval=0.23-0.43 mEq/L) higher serum bicarbonate. Sit-to-stand time improved after 6 weeks of oral NaHCO3 (23.8±1.4 versus 22.2±1.6 seconds for 10 repetitions, P=0.002), and urinary nitrogen excretion decreased (-0.70 g/g creatinine [95% confidence interval=-1.11 to -0.30] per 0.1 mEq/kg per day higher dose). No statistically significant change was seen in handgrip strength (29.5±9.6 versus 28.4±9.4 kg, P=0.12). Higher NaHCO3 doses were not associated with increased BP or greater edema. CONCLUSIONS NaHCO3 supplementation produces a dose-dependent increase in serum bicarbonate and improves lower extremity muscle strength after a short-term intervention in CKD patients with mild acidosis. Long-term studies are needed to determine if this finding translates into improved functional status.
Instability and large‐scale circulations in a two‐column model of the tropical troposphere

A two‐column model of the tropical atmosphere is developed. The two columns are kept in buoyancy equilibrium by mass exchange driven by the inter‐column pressure gradient, and diabatic processes are parametrized by highly simplified schemes. This model is used to investigate whether spontaneous large‐scale circulations will develop in the tropical atmosphere when (he sea surface temperature and solar radiative forcing are uniform. Such circulations do indeed develop in the model, with ascent in one column and descent in the other, when one of the columns is slightly perturbed from the initial state of radiative‐convective equilibrium. A key element of the circulation dynamics is that increased equivalent potential temperature in a column leads to enhanced convection and rainfall in that column, which further increases the equivalent potential temperature there. The latter effect arises because convection enhances surface heat fluxes and decreases outgoing long‐wave radiation by virtue of the increase in stratiform cloudiness. These results form an attractive explanation for the observed patchiness of deep convection over warm tropical oceans and suggest that further modelling and observational work be directed towards understanding the budget of equivalent potential temperature in the tropical atmosphere and its relationship to rainfall.
Perceptions of the health effects of stoves in Mongolia.

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the views of stove users in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on how stoves affect their health. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH In this paper focus groups were conducted with improved stove users; traditional stove users; and a mix of traditional and improved stove users. Individual interviews were also held with various types of stove users. A translator moderated all discussions with a questioning route. All discussions were fully transcribed and translated. The transcripts were analysed by identifying common themes in responses to form an emerging theory. FINDINGS The findings in the paper are that all stove users recognised respiratory symptoms caused by stove smoke and other health effects such as warmth, dirt and workload, which they perceived to be important. Stove users had a lack of knowledge about the diseases caused by the smoke. Public health was a key driver for the improved stove project, yet has been neglected in improved stove marketing. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS The study used in this paper was limited by the language barrier. Some of the meanings of participants' responses may have been lost in translation. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS This paper has highlighted the importance of the health effects of stove smoke to stove users. Uptake of the improved stoves has been low. Public health should be included in marketing strategies for improved stoves to increase their uptake. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The paper shows that acute respiratory infections are a major cause of mortality world-wide. Indoor air pollution from burning biomass fuels in household stoves causes a significant proportion of respiratory infections. No qualitative research has been published exploring stove users' views on the health effects of stoves. This paper provides an insight into stove users' perceptions for those interested in people-centred approaches to tackling international health issues.
Validation of Retention Modeling as a Trap-Profiling Technique for SiN-Based Charge-Trapping Memories

We applied the developed trap spectroscopy by charge injection and sensing to validate the extraction of the silicon nitride trap distribution (both in space and energy) from the modeling of retention transients of charge-trapping memories. We compared three different types of silicon nitrides using these two techniques, and similar distributions were extracted, thus confirming the validity of the charge profiles resulting from the modeling of retention transients and the physics of the proposed model, based on two main mechanisms of charge loss: Poole-Frenkel emission (dominating at high temperature) and direct tunneling (dominating at room temperature).