Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sample-based singing voice synthesizer by spectral concatenation

The singing synthesis system we present generates a performance of an artificial singer out of the musical score and the phonetic transcription of a song using a frame-based frequency domain technique. This performance mimics the real singing of a singer that has been previously recorded, analyzed and stored in a database. To synthesize such performance the systems concatenates a set of elemental synthesis units. These units are obtained by transposing and time-scaling the database samples. The concatenation of these transformed samples is performed by spreading out the spectral shape and phase discontinuities of the boundaries along a set of transition frames that surround the joint frames. The expression of the singing is applied through a Voice Model built up on top of a Spectral Peak Processing (SPP) technique.
Validação da versão em português do Inventário de Depressão Maior

OBJETIVO: Validar, adaptar e aferir a fidedignidade do Inventario de Depressao Maior (Major Depression Inventory - MDI) para a lingua portuguesa. METODOS: O questionario passou pelo processo de adaptacao transcultural. Foi realizado um pre-teste para avaliar sua aplicabilidade. Para avaliacao de reprodutibilidade, utilizou-se medida repetida com intervalo de 1 a 2 semanas e coeficiente de correlacao intraclasse. O MDI e a escala de Hamilton foram aplicados em 30 pacientes com diagnostico de depressao, que foram pareados com 90 controles aos quais foi aplicado o MDI. A curva ROC foi realizada com 120 pacientes e escore final do MDI. Para analise da validade interna, utilizou-se o alfa de Cronbach. RESULTADOS: Sensibilidade e especificidade foram 0,86 e 0,75, respectivamente, com escores 16/17. O alfa de Cronbach para a escala total foi 0,91. O coeficiente de Pearson entre o total do MDI e o total da escala de depressao de Hamilton foi 0,56. A analise fatorial revelou dois fatores: o primeiro explicava 53,9% da variacao enquanto o segundo explicava somente 13,6%. A confiabilidade teste-reteste foi excelente (com coeficiente de correlacao intraclasse variando de 0,50 e 0,93 para itens individuais e 0,90 para o escore total). CONCLUSAO: As propriedades psicometricas do MDI se mostraram adequadas para aplicacao na populacao brasileira, entretanto outros estudos se fazem necessarios.
Social Contagion of Violence

Since 1968, violence and other crimes in New York City have followed a pattern of recurring epidemics. There have been three consecutive and contiguous cycles characterized by sharp increases in homicides and assaults to an elevated rate followed by equally steep declines to levels near the previous starting point. The most recent epidemic, from 1985-96, had the sharpest rise and steepest decline of the three epidemics. Popular explanations of the current epidemic fail to account for both the rise and fall of the decline, or for the repetitive pattern of these epidemics. In this article, we use public health data to identify factors associated with the cyclical rise and fall of homicides and non-lethal injury violence in this most recent of the three epidemics. Homicides in this period were concentrated among minority males, ages 15-24, while victimization rates for females of all ages remained stable. Gun homicides and non-lethal gun assaults accounted for all the increase and decline in interpersonal violence from 1985-95; intentional injuries caused by other means also were stable or declining over this period. Next, we use hierarchical linear regression models, with a rich set of time-varying covariates and controls for both temporal and spatial autocorrelation, to identify whether the rise and fall of homicide are explained by processes of diffusion across adjacent neighborhoods. We estimate the probabilities of homicides and assaults in a neighborhood controlling for rates of homicide or assault in the surrounding neighborhoods in the preceding year, and find that gun violence diffuses across neighborhoods over time. Epidemic patterns of violence disproportionately affected African Americans as victims of gun violence, both homicides and non-lethal gun assaults. Diffusion was strongest in neighborhoods where social control was compromised by extreme poverty and concentrated racial segregation. Concentrations of immigrant households in neighborhoods were a protective factor in suppressing the violence epidemic. We then use social contagion theories to link contagion of violence across neighborhoods to individual data on social interactions that may animate the transmission and diffusion of violence. Analyses of the social contexts and interpersonal dynamics of violent events reveals how street interactions in interpersonal disputes link individuals within and across social networks in a competition for status that is skewed by the presence of firearms. Decisions to carry, show and use weapons are based on perceptions of threat and danger, which are shaped by the presence of firearms and the potential stigma associated with non-action. These events occur across multiple contexts - bars, streetcorners, drug markets - to reinforce perceptions of risk and expectations of the threat or reality of lethal violence.
Moderation Effects of Job Characteristics on the Relationship between Neuroticism and Job Performance

The present study evaluates a model suggesting that the job performance of highly neurotic individuals is influenced by job characteristics. By building on research that emphasizes bright sides of neuroticism, the author challenges neurotics' disadvantage in job performance. In a longitudinal field study at two time periods using a sample (T1: n = 802; T2: n = 760) of employees in 13 job profiles from 22 private banks, the present study found the support for moderation effects of various job characteristics on the relationship between neuroticism and job performance. These findings highlight a previously unidentified mechanism to explain the complex relationship between neuroticism and job performance. Implications of the study to theory and practice are discussed.
Carbonyl Emissions in E-cigarette Aerosol: A Systematic Review and Methodological Considerations

Carbonyl emissions from tobacco cigarettes represent a substantial health risk contributing to smoking-related morbidity and mortality. As expected, this is an important research topic for tobacco harm reduction products, in an attempt to compare the relative risk of these products compared to tobacco cigarettes. In this study, a systematic review of the literature available on PubMed was performed analyzing the studies evaluating carbonyl emissions from e-cigarettes. A total of 32 studies were identified and presented. We identified a large diversity of methodologies, with substantial discrepancies in puffing patterns, aerosol collection and analytical methods as well as reported units of measurements. Such discrepancies make comparisons difficult, and in some cases the accuracy of the findings cannot be determined. Importantly, control for the generation of dry puffs was not performed in the vast majority of studies, particularly in studies using variable power devices, which could result in testing conditions and reported carbonyl levels that have no clinical relevance or context. Some studies have been replicated, verifying the presence of dry puff conditions. Whenever realistic use conditions were ensured, carbonyl emissions from e-cigarettes were substantially lower than tobacco cigarette smoke, while newer generation (bottom-coil, cotton wick) atomizers appeared to emit minimal levels of carbonyls with questionable clinical significance in terms of health risk. However, extremely high levels of carbonyl emissions were reported in some studies, and all these studies need to be replicated because of potentially important health implications.
Effects of Emotional Testimony and Gruesome Photographs on Mock Jurors' Decisions and Negative Emotions

The present study investigated the combined and individual effects of emotional testimony and gruesome photographs on mock jurors’ verdict decisions and emotions. Participants (n = 127) were provided with a murder trial transcript and then rendered verdicts in a 2 (emotional testimony: present, absent) × 2 (gruesome photographs: present, absent) between-groups design. They also rated their negative emotions before and after the transcript. The results indicated a combined effect of emotional testimony and gruesome photographs on verdict decisions: the emotional testimony alone had a significant effect on guilty verdicts while the gruesome photographs had only a marginally significant effect. Negative emotions were aroused by the emotional testimony when the gruesome photographs were not presented. The impact of emotional evidence on verdict decisions is discussed.
THE SENSITIZATION OF RATS BY ALLOGRAFTS TRANSPLANTED TO ALYMPHATIC PEDICLES OF SKIN

Pedicles of skin which lacked a lymphatic drainage were raised on the backs of rats in order to study the importance of afferent lymphatics in sensitization by skin allografts. Although allografts transplanted to the alymphatic pedicles enjoyed a prolonged survival, they contracted progressively from about 3 wk after transplantation and were reduced eventually to small scars. In contrast, autografts survived unchanged in size for the life-span of the pedicles which carried them. The slow contracture of the allografts was associated with sensitization of the host because test allografts applied orthotopically were destroyed with a second-set tempo. No regeneration of lymphatics from the long-standing pedicles could be demonstrated, and it was concluded that sensitization had occurred eventually through the blood, presumably by the process of peripheral sensitization. Allografts on skin pedicles could be destroyed rapidly by active or adoptive immunization, so it is probable that the level of sensitization to which they themselves gave rise was a low one. Although it is not disputed that afferent lymphatics are essential for the rapid destruction of skin allografts, it is clear that the absence of a lymphatic supply does not permanently exempt them from immunological attack in the rat.
Linking the Physical Work Environment to Creative Context

Creative achievement of teams is increasingly recognized as an organization's most valuable production. With dramatically advancing technology producing an almost unlimited amount of available information, the crucial challenge to many corporate and government organizations is how to use that information most creatively. While little expense is spared on identifying and training teams to enhance their potential for creative achievement, little is known about how, or if, the physical designed environment of these organizations supports creative achievement of teams. This review of literature across the disciplines of creativity, organizational behavior, and environment and behavior studies advocates a position for the physical environment in the context of creativity. Creative team characteristics and social influences are linked to properties and attributes of the physical office environment.
Effect of Text Outline and Contrast Polarity on AR Text Readability in Industrial Lighting

Text readability with augmented reality head-worn displays is critical and at present time, there are no standard guidelines to follow. The readability depends mainly on background lighting, display technology (i.e., OST: optical see-through or VST: video see-through), and text style (e.g., plain text, outline or billboard). In this work, we addressed the readability limits for industrial activities. We experimented the effects of two background illuminances levels (1,000 lx for very fine basic industrial tasks and 4,000 lx for fine machining), two commercially available head-worn display technologies, variable outline widths and contrast polarity of text. We analyzed the performance of 12 subjects by collecting about 3,400 measurements using a specific test application and followed by qualitative interviews. With high illuminances, VST performed better than OST, regardless of contrast polarity and outline width. We found that negative contrast polarity is preferable with VST, and that just a minimum outline (1 px) around black text is optimal. On the contrary, positive contrast polarity should be used with OST and outline is not effective. Therefore, we evaluated the usage limits of the OST by sampling its contrast sensitivity function.
The Role of Electoral Stakeholders in Eastern African Communities

The majority of Africans (60%) believe, according to an Afrobarometer (2005) survey, that democracy is preferable to all other forms of government. As argued by Holmquist and Ford (1992:97-110) self-appointed rulers are facing hard times all over Africa. Democracy is everywhere in the air and popular mobilization, though very uneven, is consequential. With little room for maneuver, several autocrats have fallen or pledged transitions to democracy.
Cardinal Interpolation

A Bayesian probability density for an interpolating function is developed, and its desirable properties and practical potential are demonstrated. This density has an often needed but previously unachieved property, here called cardinal interpolation, which ensures extrapolation to the density of the least-squares linear model. In particular, the mean of the cardinal interpolation density is a smooth function that intersects given (x, y) points and which extrapolates to their least-squares line, and the variance of this density is a smooth function that is zero at the point x values, that increases with distance from the nearest point x value, and that extrapolates to the well-known quadratic variance function for the least-squares line. The new cardinal interpolation density is developed for Gaussian radial basis interpolators using fully Bayesian methods that optimize interpolator smoothness. This optimization determines the basis function widths and yields an interpolating density that is non-Gaussian except for large magnitude x and which is therefore not the outcome of a Gaussian process. Further, new development shows that the salient property of extrapolation to the density of the least- squares linear model can be achieved for more general approximating (not just interpolating) functions.
Dioxins in beef samples from Mexico using a low resolution GC/MS screening method

Dioxins in beef were quantified by high resolution gas chromatography coupled to low-resolution mass spectrometry (GC/LRMS). The analyses were performed according to the minimum requirements described in the USEPA 1613 method with some minor modifications. Levels found in the samples were in the range 1.02–8.04 pg WHO-TEQ PCDDs/PCDFs g−1 fat. For comparison purposes, the maximum level allowed by the European Union is 3 pg WHO-TEQ PCDDs/PCDFs g−1 fat, and some of these samples surpassed the above-mentioned limit and can be considered as contaminated food. The results confirm that a preliminary screening of dioxins in beef can be performed by GC/LRMS. As far as we know, this is the first report of dioxins in beef in Mexico. After the appropriated tests, the applied methodology could be considered as an alternative screening method for the analysis of PCDD/Fs in other food products.
T-Cell Composition of the Lymph Node Is Associated with the Risk for Early Rejection after Renal Transplantation

Background The T-cell composition within the lymph node (LN) of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients differs from the composition within the circulation. Activation of the alloreactive T-cell response within secondary lymphoid organs is important after organ transplantation. However, to date no data are present on LN T-cell subsets and the risk for acute rejection after kidney transplantation. Methods T cells from LNs of ESRD patients were analyzed for frequency of recent thymic emigrants, relative telomere length, expression of differentiation markers, and were related to the development of early acute rejection (EAR), occurring within 3 months after renal transplantation (RT). Furthermore, the alloreactive potential of mononuclear cells isolated from the LN and peripheral blood of 10 patients was analyzed. Measures of alloreactive potential included proliferation, cytokine production, frequencies of interferon-gamma-producing cells, and the presence of cytotoxic molecules. Results Patients with EAR were younger (p = 0.019), cytomegalovirus-seropositive (p = 0.037) and usually received dialysis prior to RT (p = 0.030). Next to this, patients with EAR showed a lower CD4:CD8 ratio (p = 0.027) within the LN. T cells from the LN were similar with regard to alloreactive capacity compared with those within the circulation. Univariate regression analysis showed that the CD4:CD8 ratio (OR: 0.67, p = 0.039), patient age (OR: 0.93, p = 0.024), and preemptive RT (OR: 0.11, p = 0.046) were associated with EAR. After a multivariate analysis, only the CD4:CD8 ratio (OR: 0.58, p = 0.019) and preemptive RT (OR:0.05, p = 0.012) were associated with EAR. Conclusion A lower CD4:CD8 ratio in the LN is associated with a higher risk for the development of rejection within 3 months after RT.
Enhancement in QoS for Hybrid Networks Using IEEE 802.11e HCCA with Extended AODV Routing Protocol

The mobile ad hoc network (MANET) with infrastructure networks (hybrid networks) has several practical uses. The utility of hybrid network is increased in real time applications by providing some suitable quality of service. The quality thresholds are imposed on parameters like end-to-end delay (EED), jitter, packet delivery ratio (PDR) and throughput. This paper utilizes the extended ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) routing protocol for communication between ad hoc network and fixed wired network. This paper also uses the IEEE 802.11e medium access control (MAC) function HCF Controlled Channel Access (HCCA) to support quality of service (QoS) in hybrid network. In this paper two simulation scenarios are analyzed for hybrid networks. The nodes in wireless ad hoc networks are mobile in one scenario and static in the other scenario. Both simulation scenarios are used to compare the performance of extended AODV with HCCA (IEEE 802.11e) and without HCCA (IEEE802.11) for real time voice over IP (VoIP) traffic. The extensive set of simulations results show that the performance of extended AODV with HCCA (IEEE 802.11e) improves QoS in hybrid network and it is unaffected whether the nodes in wireless ad hoc networks are mobile or static.
Axial resolution limit of a fiber-optic fluorescence probe.

We examine the limit of spatial resolution achievable when a sine optical fiber is used for excitation and collection of fluorescence from a bulk specimen. We calculate the probability of detecting a fluorescent particle as a function of its position relative to the fiber face, using excitation wavelength lambda, radius a, numerical aperture N.A. , and the particle's fluorescence and absorbance spectra. Treating Rhodamine B as a model fluorescent analyte and using appropriate fiber parameters, we show that the maximum axial resolution (defined as the axial distance in a homogenous solution within which 50% of the detected signal originates) achievable is approximately 10 microm. We experimentally measured the axial resolution for a 500-microM aqueous solution of Rhodamine B with lambda = 543 nm, a = 1.31 microm, and a N.A. of 0.16 and found good qualitative agreement with the calculation.
An Appraisal of Naturalism in Contemporary Meta-Ethics

The view that ethics is a discipline which can operate within the constraints of naturalism, whereby all principles, properties and terms are accessible to natural science, can be subdivided into logical, semantic, and synthetic. Logical naturalists defend the naturalist claim with an appeal to the validity of the logical progression from premises without moral terms to conclusions with them. Semantic naturalists defend it with an appeal to an analytical equivalence between certain nonmoral and moral expressions. Both of these approaches have been thoroughly criticised in this century. Relatively recently, naturalists have begun to defend their naturalist thesis not from either of these perspectives, but with a direct appeal to synthetic facts which can be employed or referred to in scientific explanations. Effective critique of naturalist theories of this newer type involves examination of both the scientific and the ethical claims made. One such synthetic naturalist approach to ethics is the evolutionary naturalism proposed by Michael Ruse. Critique based on a thorough examination of both the science of sociobiology and the moral philosophy involved in Ruse's theory yields informative conclusions, rendering his theory implausible from both perspectives. In light of this case study, a general strategy of argument can be developed which has potential for critique of other naturalistic ethical theories as well. This strategy is the Argument from Moral Experience, which operates by comparing descriptive claims regarding the fundamental nature of morality that are presented or implied by ethical theories, with the fundamental nature of morality as it is actually experienced. If arguments of this type are sound, they can be used in an exploration of whether or not naturalism is an appropriate perspective for morality to be understood and explained properly.
Some Advances in Transformation-Based Part of Speech Tagging

Most recent research in trainable part of speech taggers has explored stochastic tagging. While these taggers obtain high accuracy, linguistic information is captured indirectly, typically in tens of thousands of lexical and contextual probabilities. In (Brill 1992), a trainable rule-based tagger was described that obtained performance comparable to that of stochastic taggers, but captured relevant linguistic information in a small number of simple non-stochastic rules. In this paper, we describe a number of extensions to this rule-based tagger. First, we describe a method for expressing lexical relations in tagging that stochastic taggers are currently unable to express. Next, we show a rule-based approach to tagging unknown words. Finally, we show how the tagger-can be extended into a k-best tagger, where multiple tags can be assigned to words in some cases of uncertainty.
A Brief Review: The Z-curve Theory and its Application in Genome Analysis

In theoretical physics, there exist two basic mathematical approaches, algebraic and geometrical methods, which, in most cases, are complementary. In the area of genome sequence analysis, however, algebraic approaches have been widely used, while geometrical approaches have been less explored for a long time. The Z-curve theory is a geometrical approach to genome analysis. The Z-curve is a three-dimensional curve that represents a given DNA sequence in the sense that each can be uniquely reconstructed given the other. The Z-curve, therefore, contains all the information that the corresponding DNA sequence carries. The analysis of a DNA sequence can then be performed through studying the corresponding Z-curve. The Z-curve method has found applications in a wide range of areas in the past two decades, including the identifications of protein-coding genes, replication origins, horizontally-transferred genomic islands, promoters, translational start sides and isochores, as well as studies on phylogenetics, genome visualization and comparative genomics. Here, we review the progress of Z-curve studies from aspects of both theory and applications in genome analysis.