Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Signal subspace methods for speech enhancement

This thesis focus on the theory analysis and algorithm aspects of signal subspace methods used for speech enhancement in digital speech processing The problem is approached by initially performing an analysis of subspace principles applied to speech signals in order to characterize the usefulness of de ning a signal subspace for this application The theory is formulated by means of the singular value decomposition or the eigendecomposition and subspace methods are linked to ltering in the frequency domain Nonparametric speech enhancement using linear signal subspace based estimation of the clean signal from the noisy signal is reviewed and connections between existing algorithms and litterature are explored An analysis of the practical behavior of the estimators is given and aspects regarding their performance in the case with prewhitening is covered The relation to the popular spectral subtraction approach is discussed and the origin of the musical noise is pointed out A possible way to reduce the latter is devised In the noisy case model based estimation is a nonlinear problem which is normally solved by iterative techniques However a new idea based on multi microphone inverse ltering is presented where the solution is obtained by subspace methods The algorithm aspects of signal subspace methods are discussed in terms of the rank revealing ULV ULLV decompositions which are numerically stable and can be cheaply updated when a new data sample is present The potential of the decompositions when applied to speech problems are analyzed and di erent estimation strategies are suggested Again the practical behavior of the estimators are analyzed A recursive ULLV algorithm for a so called sliding window estimation is presented which is new in its complete treatment and implementation Many aspects of the algorithm are discussed in details and important considerations are pointed out Both the ULV ULLV algorithms and the subspace based enhancement algorithms are implemented in a Matlab toolbox Throughout the thesis the speech enhancement application illustrates the power and ro bustness of the subspace approach and a number of illustrative examples are given Peter S K Hansen iii
Farm Operator Benefits from Direct Marketing Strategies: How Does Local Food Impact Farm Financial Performance?

In the era of a global economy, farmers face increasing pressure in developing a portfolio of various marketing channels. However, the literature on direct marketing strategies has mainly focused on consumers. Using farm-level data this study investigates factors associated with the choice of three direct marketing strategies. We apply a selectivity based approach for the multinomial logit model to assess the relationship between the choice of direct sales marketing strategy on the financial performance of the business. Findings from this study suggest that obtaining an Internet connection and accessing the Internet for farm commerce increases the likelihood of using intermediated marketing outlets. Using the Internet for farm commerce and operating diversified farms (more enterprises) is associated with increases in the likelihood that the farmer relies on direct to consumer marketing outlets. The gender of the operator, the portfolio of input acquisition and management practices, and participation in Federal, State, or local farm program payments is positively associated with total farm sales in all three direct marketing strategies. Finally, an accurate evaluation of the projected earnings from the direct-to-consumer marketing outlet must account for selectivity effects.
Systematic Reviews of Animal Experiments Demonstrate Poor Human Clinical and Toxicological Utility

The assumption that animal models are reasonably predictive of human outcomes provides the basis for their widespread use in toxicity testing and in biomedical research aimed at developing cures for human diseases. To investigate the validity of this assumption, the comprehensive Scopus biomedical bibliographic databases were searched for published systematic reviews of the human clinical or toxicological utility of animal experiments. In 20 reviews in which clinical utility was examined, the authors concluded that animal models were either significantly useful in contributing to the development of clinical interventions, or were substantially consistent with clinical outcomes, in only two cases, one of which was contentious. These included reviews of the clinical utility of experiments expected by ethics committees to lead to medical advances, of highly-cited experiments published in major journals, and of chimpanzee experiments — those involving the species considered most likely to be predictive of human outcomes. Seven additional reviews failed to clearly demonstrate utility in predicting human toxicological outcomes, such as carcinogenicity and teratogenicity. Consequently, animal data may not generally be assumed to be substantially useful for these purposes. Possible causes include interspecies differences, the distortion of outcomes arising from experimental environments and protocols, and the poor methodological quality of many animal experiments, which was evident in at least 11 reviews. No reviews existed in which the majority of animal experiments were of good methodological quality. Whilst the effects of some of these problems might be minimised with concerted effort (given their widespread prevalence), the limitations resulting from interspecies differences are likely to be technically and theoretically impossible to overcome. Non-animal models are generally required to pass formal scientific validation prior to their regulatory acceptance. In contrast, animal models are simply assumed to be predictive of human outcomes. These results demonstrate the invalidity of such assumptions. The consistent application of formal validation studies to all test models is clearly warranted, regardless of their animal, non-animal, historical, contemporary or possible future status. Likely benefits would include, the greater selection of models truly predictive of human outcomes, increased safety of people exposed to chemicals that have passed toxicity tests, increased efficiency during the development of human pharmaceuticals and other therapeutic interventions, and decreased wastage of animal, personnel and financial resources. The poor human clinical and toxicological utility of most animal models for which data exists, in conjunction with their generally substantial animal welfare and economic costs, justify a ban on animal models lacking scientific data clearly establishing their human predictivity or utility.
Monitoring tropical debris-covered glacier dynamics from high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry, Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Abstract. The glaciers of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, are rapidly retreating and thinning as a result of climate change, altering the timing, quantity and quality of water available to downstream users. Furthermore, increases in the number and size of proglacial lakes associated with these melting glaciers is increasing potential exposure to glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Understanding how these glaciers are changing and their connection to proglacial lake systems is thus of critical importance. Most satellite data are too coarse for studying small mountain glaciers and are often affected by cloud cover, while traditional airborne photogrammetry and lidar are costly. Recent developments have made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) a viable and potentially transformative method for studying glacier change at high spatial resolution, on demand and at relatively low cost. Using a custom designed hexacopter built for high-altitude (4000–6000 m a. s. l. ) operation, we completed repeat aerial surveys (2014 and 2015) of the debris-covered Llaca Glacier tongue and proglacial lake system. High-resolution orthomosaics (5 cm) and digital elevation models (DEMs) (10 cm) were produced and their accuracy assessed. Analysis of these datasets reveals highly heterogeneous patterns of glacier change. The most rapid areas of ice loss were associated with exposed ice cliffs and meltwater ponds on the glacier surface. Considerable subsidence and low surface velocities were also measured on the sediments within the pro-glacial lake, indicating the presence of extensive regions of buried ice and continued connection to the glacier tongue. Only limited horizontal retreat of the glacier tongue was observed, indicating that measurements of changes in aerial extent alone are inadequate for monitoring changes in glacier ice quantity.
Degradation of triglycerides by a pseudomonad isolated from milk: molecular analysis of a lipase-encoding gene and its expression in Escherichia coli

Psychrotrophic lipolytic bacteria represent a significant problem in the storage of refrigerated dairy products. A lipase-encoding gene has been cloned and characterized from a highly lipolytic strain of Pseudomonas. The nucleotide sequence of the gene predicts a polypeptide of M(r) 49,905, which was identified when the gene was expressed in Escherichia coli.
The meaning of work in people with severe mental illness (SMI) in Iran

Background: Work is the key component for most people in regard to financial, social and wellbeing matters. Employment is an important factor underpinning mental health disorders. However, unemployment remains an unsolved issue worldwide. Numerous studies have focused on employment outcomes in people with severe mental illness (SMI) but, only a few have explored their perspective on employment. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the meaning of work among clients with SMI in Iran. Methods: A qualitative research approach was used to conduct this research. Ten participants who were consumers of mental health services took part in this study. Data were analyzed by inductive content analysis approach. Results: Four themes emerged from data including: acquiring identity, work as a drive, passing the time and financial independence. Conclusion: Meaning of work in studied people with SMI was probably similar to the general population. The different finding in this study refers to the dominancy of family relationships and spiritual believes which could cover some problems and in turn affect the meaning of work. Highlighting these meanings could direct mental health professionals to better planning for their clients have better understanding of their clients’ work future and in turn provide more precise plan for them.
Winter Biology of Aedes albifasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) from Córdoba, Argentina

Abstract Host-seeking females of Aedes albifasciatus (Macquart) were collected from April to September 1997, kept under seminatural conditions, and offered sugar solution and blood. Daily survival of females ranged from 0.91 to 0.96, with blood fed females living longer than sugar fed females. Overall, 43% of engorged females completed a gonotrophic cycle, and 15% of them refed and completed a second gonotrophic cycle. The life expectancy of females emerging at the end of summer was longer than those that emerged during winter. Immature developmental time and the developmental threshold were estimated by regression. Embryo development was recorded during autumn, winter, and spring, with a duration of 5–9 d. The developmental threshold for eggs was estimated to be 2.28°C. Egg mortality varied from 0.51 to 0.74. The development time for larva and pupa was between 16 and 29 d and was significantly correlated with temperature. The developmental threshold for larvae and pupae was estimated to be 4.75°C. A greater proportion of females than males emerged when temperatures averaged ≤18°C. Larval and pupal mortality was high at temperatures below the developmental threshold. Aedes albifasciatus females remained gonotrophically active and immature development continued during winter in Córdoba (10°C isotherm).
Effect of planting density and sowing date on the essential oil content and composition of lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora)

Lemon verbena leaves are used as the plant for injection, aromatic, digestive and antispasmodic properties. Lemon verbena leaves has a mild sedative and reputation for relieving abdominal discomfort. In order to examine the influence of planting density and sowing date on the essential oil Neral, Geranial and Limonene in Lippia citriodora , an experiment was performed in Rasht experimental farm, Gilan province, 2011. The experiment was done as a factori al on the basis of randomized complete blocks design in three replications. Density treatments at three levels: 2, 4, 6 plants /m 2 and sowing treatment of March 24 th , April 8 th and April 24 th . The chemical composition was analyzed by Gas chromatography (GC ) and Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) . 37 compounds were identified in the Essential oil of Lippia citriodora . The most important compounds in plant lemon verbena were Neral, Geranial and Limonene. Regarding the obtained results, planting dens ity and sowing date treatments had a significant effect on the rate of essential oil and the highest amounts of Neral, Geranial and Limonene were measured as 23.25, 33.68 and 5.84 in the 4 plant/m2 and planting on March 24 th .
Hematological indices in human immunodeficiency virus and pulmonary tuberculosis infections in parts of Delta State, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE To enhance the care and management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) positive patients, as part of an overall effort to reduce morbidity and mortality of HIV-related death in Nigeria. METHODS Hematological investigations were carried out on 205 patients suspected of HIV and/or TB, and 100 apparently healthy control subjects in Kwale, Agbor, and Eku in parts of Delta State, Nigeria from February 2006 to February 2008. World Health Organization systems 2 for HIV-1&2 antibodies screening technique was used for the screening of the subject's HIV status, Ziehl Nelson technique for TB, hematocrit, and Leishman staining techniques were used for full blood count determination. RESULTS Our results showed that the mean packed cell volume obtained for infected subjects was statistically significant (p=0.0000074) when compared to the control subject's value. The mean neutrophil and eosinophil counts obtained were of specific disease diagnostic relevance when compared to the control group. The gender related distributions of hematological indices were compared with the control group. CONCLUSION The study confirms the importance of full blood count in the monitoring and management of HIV and TB infections.
Coronary Revascularization in Chronic and End-Stage Renal Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on dialysis have an increased risk for cardiovascular mortality and morbidity secondary to occlusive coronary artery disease. Optimal revascularization strategy is unclear in this high-risk population. We have performed a meta-analysis to compare coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) versus percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ESRD and CKD. We searched PubMed, Ovid, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and EMBASE (1980–2013) and found 17 trials (N = 33,584) in the ESRD arm and 6 studies (n = 15,493) in the CKD arm. Two investigators independently collected the data. All the studies were retrospective trials. In the ESRD and CKD groups, we found significantly reduced early mortality with the PCI group with the odds ratio of 2.08 (1.90–2.26; P < 0.00001) and 2.55 (1.45–4.51; P = 0.001), respectively. Contrary to the early mortality results, we found decreased late mortality with the CABG group when compared with the PCI group [odds ratio: 0.86 (0.83–0.89; P < 0.000001) and 0.82 (0.76–0.88; P < 0.00001)] in the ESRD and CKD arm, respectively. When compared with PCI, there was decreased cardiovascular mortality with an odds ratio of 0.61 (0.40–0.92; P = 0.02) in patients who underwent CABG in ESRD population. Similar trends were observed in the incidence of myocardial infarction and repeat revascularization. There is a strong trend for decreased risk of stroke with PCI when compared with CABG in ESRD and CKD populations.
Incidence of Malassezia Fungemia and Bacteremia in School Children with Pityriasis Versicolor in Ogun State, Nigeria

Background: Malassezia species are dimorphic mycoflora of human skin with colonization as early as the neonatal period. However, they are often associated with superficial skin infection known as pityriasis/tinea versicolor with little reports on their involvement in systemic diseases in developing nations. Recent rise in cases of morbidity and mortality due to fungal sepsis among children in developing countries warrants the present study to determine the occurrence of Malassezia fungemia with cases of pityriasis versicolor (PV) and bacteremia among pupils attending public primary schools in Ogun State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods:Venous blood samples of 232 pupils with symptoms of PV and those of 67 asymptomatic pupils were cultured in pairs of glucose broth with and without olive oil before subculturing on Sabouraud Dextrose agar, Blood agar and MacConkey agar plates. Skin scrapings of the symptomatic pupils were separately cultured on the three agar plates. The microbial isolates were speciated using cultural, morphological and biochemical methods. Results: Of the 232 skin scrapings of symptomatic pupils, 166 (71.6%) were found to be cultural positive for Malassezia species in, which M. restricta gave the highest isolation frequency of 71.7% followed by M. globosa (22.9%), M. obtusa (3.6%) and M. slooffiae (1.8%) while the blood cultures of 49 (21.1%) showed occurrence of these respective fungi to be 55.1%, 36.7%, 8.2% and 0.0%. The frequencies of bacteria in the blood cultures of symptomatic pupils were: Pseudomonas spp. 27.5%, Staphylococcus aureus 20.9%, Proteus spp. 18.7%, Klebsiella spp. 14.3%, Enterococcus faecalis 9.9% and Staphylococcus epidermidis 8.8%. Fungemia and bacteremia were found to be significantly associated with symptomatic PV (P< 0.05) when compared with asymptomatic cases. Ten patterns of fungi and bacteria blood co-infections were obtained in the symptomatic PV. Discussion: The result of this study has shown that symptomatic PV is both a superficial and systemic mycosis and could occur as a co-infection with bacteremia in pupils. These findings should be considered in the management of this common mycotic infection of the skin. (Academia Arena, 2010;2(1):1-5). (ISSN 1553- 992X).
Loss of single HLA Class I allospecificities in melanoma cells due to selective genomic abbreviations

Expression of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) Class I molecules is essential for the recognition of malignant melanoma (MM) cells by CD8+ T lymphocytes. A complete or partial loss of HLA Class I molecules is a potent strategy for MM cells to escape from immunosurveillance. In 2 out of 55 melanoma cell cultures we identified a complete phenotypic loss of HLA allospecificities. Both patients have been treated unsuccessfully with HLA‐A2 peptides. To identify the reasons underlying the loss of single HLA‐A allospecificities, we searched for genomic alterations at the locus for HLA Class I α‐chain on chromosome 6 in melanoma cell cultures established from 2 selected patients with MM in advanced stage. This deficiency was associated with alterations of HLA‐A2 gene sequences as determined by polymerase chain reaction‐sequence specific primers (PCR‐SSP). Karyotyping revealed a chromosomal loss in Patient 1, whereas melanoma cell cultures established from Patient 2 displayed 2 copies of chromosome 6. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) using markers located around position 6p21 was detected in both cases. By applying group‐specific primer‐mixes spanning the 5′‐flanking region of the HLA‐A2 gene locus the relevant region was amplified by PCR and subsequent sequencing allowed alignment with the known HLA Class I reference sequences. Functional assays using HLA‐A2‐restricted cytotoxic T‐cell clones were performed in HLA‐A2 deficient MM cultures and revealed a drastically reduced susceptibility to CTL lysis in HLA‐A2 negative cells. We could document the occurrence of selective HLA‐A2 deficiencies in cultured advanced‐stage melanoma metastases and identify their molecular causes as genomic alterations within the HLA‐A gene locus. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
In Your Eyes: Identifying Clichés in Song Lyrics

We investigated methods for the discov- ery of cliches from song lyrics. Trigrams and rhyme features were extracted from a collection of lyrics and ranked using term-weighting techniques such as tf-idf. These attributes were also examined over both time and genre. We present an application to produce a cliche score for lyrics based on these findings and show that number one hits are sub- stantially more cliched than the average published song.
Size Variation Between Contralateral Infraclavicular Axillary Veins Within Individual Patients—Implications for Subclavian Venous Central Line Insertion*

Objective:Vein size and use of dynamic ultrasound guidance have been shown to be directly related to a reduction in insertion failure and complication rates during subclavian vein catheterization. We hypothesized that contralateral infraclavicular axillary vein sizes are significantly different within the same patient. We also aimed to demonstrate the relationship of subject’s anthropomorphic indices with vein size and contralateral vein size difference. Design:Prospective observational study. Setting:Operating theatre of a tertiary hospital. Patients:Fifty adult elective and emergency surgical patients. Interventions:The largest dimensions of each patient’s left and right infraclavicular axillary veins were measured with two-dimensional cross-sectional ultrasound examinations. The absolute difference between sides in individual patients was calculated using a paired difference t test and the relationship between hand dominance and vein size calculated by a paired difference t test of dominant side vein size minus nondominant side vein size Measurements and Main Results:Forty-five patients (90%) of patients were right hand dominant. The mean proportional cross-sectional area difference between left and right sides in individual patients was 59.7% (SEM 9.2%), with absolute cross-sectional area difference of 26.7 mm2 (SEM 2.8 mm2). All test statistics reached statistical significance at p < 0.0001. There was no relationship between right hand dominance and ipsilateral infraclavicular axillary vein size (p = 1.0), nor was there any clinically significant correlation between subject’s anthropomorphic indices and ipsilateral infraclavicular axillary vein size or contralateral vein size difference (largest Pearson’s r = 0.22). Conclusions:Contralateral infraclavicular axillary vein sizes within the same patient are significantly different in the adult surgical population and bear no clear relation to patient hand dominance. The magnitude of contralateral difference or absolute ipsilateral infraclavicular axillary vein size cannot be predicted by a subject’s anthropomorphic indices. All patients in whom subclavian central line insertion is planned should have both sides examined by ultrasound to determine which side has the largest vessel.