Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capturing Speaker-Independent Prosodic Information by Syntax Tree-Based Prosody Modelling

A syntax tree-based prosody generation module had been previously developed for our own speaker-dependent, concatenative speech synthesiser SVOX. In this technical report, we mainly examined the possibility of this syntax tree-based module capturing speaker-independentprosodic information. Apart from that, we also looked at the possibility of supplementing synthetic prosodic features with speaker-dependentcues, using this syntax tree-based module and a small amount of “adaptation data”. We experimented on the German language. Speech samples presented to listeners, who speak German as their first language, were generated by an HMM-based speech synthesiser whose conventional prosody prediction mechanism was replaced with this syntax tree-based prosody generation module. Subjective evaluations suggested a layer of this syntax tree-based prosody generation module could capture speaker-independent prosodic information of German and that given a small amount of “adaptation data” another layer of this module could reproduce basic global speaker-dependent prosodic cues.
A comparative study on active SLAM and autonomous exploration with Particle Filters

Planning under uncertainty in perception and action requires the robot to be able to use active strategies for trading-off between the contrasting tasks of exploring the scenario and satisfying given constraints on the admissible uncertainty in the estimation process. In this work we compare several state-of-the-art approaches to active SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) and exploration using Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filters. The proposed numerical evaluation and analytical insight allow to have a clear picture of the advantages and limitations of each technique for real world applications. Extensive tests are performed in typical indoor and office environments and on well-known benchmarking scenarios belonging to SLAM literature, with the purpose of evaluating the maturity of the field and the potential of truly autonomous navigation systems based on particle filtering.
Prognostic significance of the change in glucose level in the first 24 h after acute myocardial infarction: results from the CARDINAL study.

AIMS In acute myocardial infarction (AMI), baseline hyperglycaemia predicts adverse outcomes, but the relation between subsequent change in glucose levels and outcomes is unclear. We evaluated the prognostic significance of baseline glucose and the change in glucose in the first 24 h following AMI. METHODS AND RESULTS We analysed 1469 AMI patients with baseline and 24 h glucose data from the CARDINAL trial database. Baseline glucose and the 24 h change in glucose (24 h glucose level subtracted from baseline glucose) were included in multivariable models for 30- and 180-day mortality. By 30 and 180 days, respectively, 45 and 74 patients had died. In the multivariable 30-day mortality model, neither baseline glucose nor the 24 h change in glucose predicted mortality in diabetic patients (n=250). However, in nondiabetic patients (n=1219), higher baseline glucose predicted higher mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04-1.20, per 0.6 mmol/L increase], and a greater 24 h change in glucose predicted lower mortality (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.86-0.96, for every 0.6 mmol/L drop in glucose in the first 24 h) at 30 days. Baseline glucose and the 24 h change in glucose remained significant multivariable mortality predictors at 180 days in nondiabetic patients. CONCLUSION Both higher baseline glucose and the failure of glucose levels to decrease in the first 24 h after AMI predict higher mortality in nondiabetic patients.
Profiles of self-handicapping and self-esteem, and its relationship with achievement goals

The present work aims to deepen the knowledge of academic self-handicapping. This study has two objectives: a) to identify different profiles of students according to the combination of self-handicapping (behavioral and claimed) and self-esteem; and (b) to analyze the differences between these profiles in the use of achievement goals (learning, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and work-avoidance). 1,028 university students participated in the research. Latent profile analysis was applied to obtain the profiles. We conducted a MANCOVA to examine the differences between profiles in achievement goals. Gender and course were estimated as covariates. Five student profiles were obtained: LSE/HSH (low self-esteem and high self-handicapping); LSE/HCSH (low self-esteem and high claimed self-handicapping); LSE/HBSH (low self-esteem and high behavioral self-handicapping); MSE/MSH (medium self-esteem and medium self-handicapping); and MSE/LSH (medium self-esteem and low self-handicapping). These profiles differed significantly from each other in terms of their achievement goals. The results of this study contribute to understanding the motivational characteristics of self-handicappers students. Given the dysfunctional nature of these strategies, some psychoeducational guidelines are proposed for the prevention of academic self-handicapping.
ANALISIS INOVASI ADMINISTRASI GURU DALAM MENINGKATKAN MUTU PEMBELAJARAN (STUDI MAN REJANG LEBONG)

AbstractThis research was a descriptive research, conducted by using a quantitative approach. The research aimed to study the administrative innovation carried out by the teachers in MAN (Islamic Senior High School) Rejang Lebong and the obstacles faced by the teachers in conducting the innovation. Data was obtained by delivering questionnaires to 54 teachers in MAN Rejang Lebong. Questionnaires consisted of two parts, i.e.: 1) data regarding teacher’s innovation and 2) data regarding teacher’s obstacles in conducting the administrative innovation. Data was processed by using a percentage and a likert scale to determine the interval. The findings in this research explained that the teachers in MAN Rejang Lebong have conducted the administrative innovation. However, the innovation conducted has not been optimally done, i.e. 61,5%, with a 62,15% innovation on prota (annual program); a 61,67% innovation on promes (semester program); a 58,72% innovation on syllabus; a 63,75% innovation on RPP (Lesson Plan). The obstacles that are interrupting the teachers in conducting the innovation, i.e. i) time constraint due to the teacher’s tight performance schedule, ii) ever-changing curriculum, iii) the lack of carrying capacity, facilities, and infrastructure, iv) leadership, and v) technical guidance and administrative management.Abstrak Penelitian ini adalah penelitian deskriptif dengan pendekatan kuantitatif yang bertujuan untuk mengetahui inovasi administrasi yang dilakukan guru di MAN Rejang Lebong, dan hambatan-hambatan apa saja yang dihadapi guru dalam melakukan inovasi administrasi tersebut. Data diperoleh dengan cara menyebarkan angket kepada 54 guru MAN Rejang Lebong. Angket terdiri dari dua yakni untuk mendapatkan data mengenai inovasi guru dan data mengenai hambatan guru dalam melakukan inovasi administrasi. Data diolah dengan persentase dan rumus skala likert untuk menentukan intervalnya. Temuan penelitian ini menunjukkan guru-guru MAN Rejang Lebong telah melakukan inovasi administrasi, akan tetapi inovasi yang dilakukakan belum maksimal, yaitu sebesar 61,57%, dengan 62,15% inovasi pada Prota, 61,67% inovasi pada promes, 58,72% inovasi pada silabus, dan 63,75% inovasi pada RPP. Adapun faktor-faktor yang menghambat guru-guru tersebut dalam berinovasi yaitu keterbatasan waktu karena padatnya jadwal kinerja guru, kurikulum yang sering berubah, kurangnya daya dukung, sarana, dan prasarana, masalah kepemimpinan, dan kurangnya bimtek dan pengelolaan administrasi.
An analytical calculation of neighbourhood order probabilities for high dimensional Poissonian processes and mean field models

Consider that the coordinates of N points are randomly generated along the edges of a d-dimensional hypercube (random point problem). The probability P(d,N)m,n that an arbitrary point is the mth nearest neighbour to its own nth nearest neighbour (Cox probabilities) plays an important role in spatial statistics. Also, it has been useful in the description of physical processes in disordered media. Here we propose a simpler derivation of Cox probabilities, where we stress the role played by the system dimensionality d. In the limit d → ∞, the distances between pair of points become independent (random link model) and closed analytical forms for the neighbourhood probabilities are obtained both for the thermodynamic limit and finite-size system. Breaking the distance symmetry constraint drives us to the random map model, for which the Cox probabilities are obtained for two cases: whether a point is its own nearest neighbour or not.
A Scalable Environment for Parallel / Distributed Computing ( Proposal )

This project is to build a scalable environment that facilitates parallel/distribute computing that showing the following characteristics: The computing is composed of several stages forming a pipeline; The input and output of every stage are arrays of homogeneous items; The processing order of the input is irrelevant; The size of the dataset is usually large. The system will provide the following features in addition to the basic computing model: Cluster computing with distributed data storage support; Sub-thread level scheduling for high throughput; Failure resistance; Support of legacy software We confine ourselves to a strict range of application, where the processing must be pipelinable and data parallelizable, not only because they are common in large scale computation 1 , but also because they distinguish themselves from other tightly coupled algorithms by the simplicity of synchronization model, proving us with a promising opportunity of optimization. By breaking down the task into stages and running each stage in a data parallel way, we can accurately measure the resource requirements of each stages on each datum by the large number of iterations, and schedule the future processing of data according to the statistics. This is a great advantage over the process based scheduling, where the process runs only once and user specification of resource requirement is needed. Here we give two scenarios where our system might be useful. First application is the ContentAware Similarity Search (CASS) system. This system manages a multimedia database (actually a set
GIS‐based multicriteria decision analysis: a survey of the literature

The integration of GIS and multicriteria decision analysis has attracted significant interest over the last 15 years or so. This paper surveys the GIS‐based multicriteria decision analysis (GIS‐MCDA) approaches using a literature review and classification of articles from 1990 to 2004. An electronic search indicated that over 300 articles appeared in refereed journals. The paper provides taxonomy of those articles and identifies trends and developments in GIS‐MCDA.
Regional Information Capacity of the Linear Time-Varying Channel

We determine the information capacity of the linear, time-varying communications channel with additive white Gaussian noise for transmission signals with support approximately restricted to closed regions of the time and frequency domains. We address the two-part problem of first, constructing appropriate transmission functions, and second, determining the mutual information. Our approach provides a signaling set that is adaptive to the time and frequency stability of the channel, and we use this set to estimate the channel’s information capacity. In the limiting regime, this approach recovers the time-invariant capacity up to a redundancy factor.
Involvement of Perineuronal and Perisynaptic Extracellular Matrix in Alzheimer's Disease Neuropathology

Brain extracellular matrix (ECM) is organized in specific patterns assumed to mirror local features of neuronal activity and synaptic plasticity. Aggrecan‐based perineuronal nets (PNs) and brevican‐based perisynaptic axonal coats (ACs) form major structural phenotypes of ECM contributing to the laminar characteristics of cortical areas. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), the deposition of amyloid proteins and processes related to neurofibrillary degeneration may affect the integrity of the ECM scaffold. In this study we investigate ECM organization in primary sensory, secondary and associative areas of the temporal and occipital lobe. By detecting all major PN components we show that the distribution, structure and molecular properties of PNs remain unchanged in AD. Intact PNs occurred in close proximity to amyloid plaques and were even located within their territory. Counting of PNs revealed no significant alteration in AD. Moreover, neurofibrillary tangles never occurred in neurons associated with PNs. ACs were only lost in the core of amyloid plaques in parallel with the loss of synaptic profiles. In contrast, hyaluronan was enriched in the majority of plaques. We conclude that the loss of brevican is associated with the loss of synapses, whereas PNs and related matrix components resist disintegration and may protect neurons from degeneration.
Fresh and Post Thaw Quality Characteristics of Holstein Friesian Bull Semen

The study was conducted to determine the quality characteristics of fresh and post-thaw semen of Holstein Friesian bull. The cow bulls were maintained at Semen Production Unit, Quetta Baluchistan. The semen ejaculates were evaluated for volume, pH, mass activity, sperm concentration, sperm motility and sperm cell membrane integrity. The semen qualifying these criteria were processed for freezing. The frozen semen after thawing was assessed for progressive linear motility and percentage of intact cell membrane. The mean ejaculate volume of collected semen was recorded as 6.93, 6.59 and 6.61 ml, pH; 6.58, 6.59 and 6.61, mass activity of sperms 3.87, 3.75 and 3.5 and sperm concentration 1349.12x106, 1509.37x106 and 1364.37x106 /ml during the month of May, June and July respectively. The color of semen was not consistent pattern, it varied as creamy white and milky white. The motility of fresh and post thaw semen was assessed as 73.9 vs 48.75%; 75 vs. 53.75%; 75 vs. 53.12% for the month of May, June and July respectively. The membrane integrity of the fresh semen samples over a period of three month was 58.37% against post-thaw membrane integrity of 44.79%. It was concluded that the objective method of Osmotic Resistance Test was found to be useful parameter for assessment of in-vitro quality of the semen. The semen of Holstein Friesian bull tolerates freezing and thawing stress and maintained reasonable good fertility. The summer season has no significant adverse effect on quality of semen and thus the semen collected could be considered for artificial insemination program.
Online Optimal Control of Affine Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems With Unknown Internal Dynamics by Using Time-Based Policy Update

In this paper, the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation is solved forward-in-time for the optimal control of a class of general affine nonlinear discrete-time systems without using value and policy iterations. The proposed approach, referred to as adaptive dynamic programming, uses two neural networks (NNs), to solve the infinite horizon optimal regulation control of affine nonlinear discrete-time systems in the presence of unknown internal dynamics and a known control coefficient matrix. One NN approximates the cost function and is referred to as the critic NN, while the second NN generates the control input and is referred to as the action NN. The cost function and policy are updated once at the sampling instant and thus the proposed approach can be referred to as time-based ADP. Novel update laws for tuning the unknown weights of the NNs online are derived. Lyapunov techniques are used to show that all signals are uniformly ultimately bounded and that the approximated control signal approaches the optimal control input with small bounded error over time. In the absence of disturbances, an optimal control is demonstrated. Simulation results are included to show the effectiveness of the approach. The end result is the systematic design of an optimal controller with guaranteed convergence that is suitable for hardware implementation.
A review of security attacks on IEC61850 substation automation system network

Although IEC61850 substations can provide various advantages over traditional substations, the power supplier companies are being cautious about its implementation due to security concerns. Indeed, researchers have identified a number of security vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the IEC61850 standard such as the lack of encryption used in the GOOSE messages, lack of intrusion detection system implementation in IEC61850 network, and no firewall implementation inside IEC61850 substation network. By exploiting these vulnerabilities, researchers have also discovered a number of security attacks that can be launched on IEC61850 substation network. These attacks can be categorized into two, which are common network security attacks on IEC61850 network and security attacks that exploit the IEC61850 multicast messages. This paper provides a review of these security attacks in terms of how the attacks are conducted and the subsequent damages that they may cause.
Sensorless Position Control of Permanent-Magnet Motors With Pulsating Current Injection and Compensation of Motor End Effects

The sensorless position control of permanent-magnet motors is successfully implemented by superimposing a high-frequency voltage signal on the voltage reference or adding a high-frequency current signal to the current reference. The former approach is usually preferred because of its simplicity, although the latter one may allow better performance. This paper presents a new algorithm for the sensorless control of low-saliency permanent-magnet synchronous motors based on high-frequency sinusoidal current signal injection into the d-axis. Different from the related literature, the position information is derived by analyzing the measured high-frequency currents. The amplitude of the d-axis voltage reference is also exploited to improve performance. A proportional-integral (PI) controller plus a resonant term (PI-RES) is adopted to ensure the accurate tracking of both the dc and high-frequency components of the d -axis current reference. The main advantages of the proposed approach are the increased accuracy and sensitivity with respect to the approach based on voltage injection, the insensitiveness to inverter nonlinearities that are compensated by the current regulation loop, the actual control on the injected current value, and the practical absence of acoustic noise. Experiments on a linear tubular permanent-magnet synchronous motor prototype have been carried out to verify the aforementioned advantages. This paper also presents a discussion of the parameters of the PI-RES.
Mining user access patterns based on Web logs

In this paper, different from usual order, not directly use the maximal forward reference path to mine sequence patterns but use DBSCAN algorithm to cluster the Web pages that have been accessed by users. Then, decide the Web page class that each page belongs to based on heuristic rules. Next, cluster the users who have the same interest in one or some kinds of Web pages. One user can belong to several classes, because the user may be interested in different types of Web pages. Finally, based on theory of sequence patterns mining, mine out user access patterns in each class by GSP algorithm. The benefit of using cluster methods is to find out layers' or classes' relationships from data even without any layer information of data. In this way, the user access patterns can be found more precisely
Functional Features of Trans-Differentiated Hair Cells Mediated by Atoh1 Reveals a Primordial Mechanism

Evolution has transformed a simple ear with few vestibular maculae into a complex three-dimensional structure consisting of nine distinct endorgans. It is debatable whether the sensory epithelia underwent progressive segregation or emerged from distinct sensory patches. To address these uncertainties we examined the morphological and functional phenotype of trans-differentiated rat hair cells to reveal their primitive or endorgan-specific origins. Additionally, it is uncertain how Atoh1-mediated trans-differentiated hair cells trigger the processes that establish their neural ranking from the vestibulocochlear ganglia. We have demonstrated that the morphology and functional expression of ionic currents in trans-differentiated hair cells resemble those of “ancestral” hair cells, even at the lesser epithelia ridge aspects of the cochlea. The structures of stereociliary bundles of trans-differentiated hair cells were in keeping with cells in the vestibule. Functionally, the transient expression of Na+ and Ih currents initiates and promotes evoked spikes. Additionally, Ca2+ current was expressed and underwent developmental changes. These events correlate well with the innervation of ectopic hair cells. New “born” hair cells at the abneural aspects of the cochlea are innervated by spiral ganglion neurons, presumably under the tropic influence of chemoattractants. The disappearance of inward currents coincides well with the attenuation of evoked electrical activity, remarkably recapitulating the development of hair cells. Ectopic hair cells underwent stepwise changes in the magnitude and kinetics of transducer currents. We propose that Atoh1 mediates trans-differentiation of morphological and functional “ancestral” hair cells that are likely to undergo diversification in an endorgan-specific manner.
Phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor use in type 2 diabetes is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality

Objective Experimental evidence has shown potential cardioprotective actions of phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors (PDE5is). We investigated whether PDE5i use in patients with type 2 diabetes, with high-attendant cardiovascular risk, was associated with altered mortality in a retrospective cohort study. Research design and methods Between January 2007 and May 2015, 5956 men aged 40–89 years diagnosed with type 2 diabetes before 2007 were identified from anonymised electronic health records of 42 general practices in Cheshire, UK, and were followed for 7.5 years. HRs from multivariable survival (accelerated failure time, Weibull) models were used to describe the association between on-demand PDE5i use and all-cause mortality. 10.1136/heartjnl-2015-309223.supp1 Supplementary appendix Results Compared with non-users, men who are prescribed PDE5is (n=1359) experienced lower percentage of deaths during follow-up (19.1% vs 23.8%) and lower risk of all-cause mortality (unadjusted HR=0.69 (95% CI: 0.64 to 0.79); p<0.001)). The reduction in risk of mortality (HR=0.54 (0.36 to 0.80); p=0.002) remained after adjusting for age, estimated glomerular filtration rate, smoking status, prior cerebrovascular accident (CVA) hypertension, prior myocardial infarction (MI), systolic blood pressure, use of statin, metformin, aspirin and β-blocker medication. PDE5i users had lower rates of incident MI (incidence rate ratio (0.62 (0.49 to 0.80), p<0.0001) with lower mortality (25.7% vs 40.1% deaths; age-adjusted HR=0.60 (0.54 to 0.69); p=0.001) compared with non-users within this subgroup. Conclusion In a population of men with type 2 diabetes, use of PDE5is was associated with lower risk of overall mortality and mortality in those with a history of acute MI.