Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation Analysis of Acoustic Features with Perceptual Voice Quality Similarity for Similar Speaker Selection

This paper describes the correlations between various acoustic features and perceptual voice quality similarity. We focus on identifying the acoustic features that are correlated with voice quality similarity. First, a large-scale perceptual exper-iment using the voices of 62 speakers is conducted and perceptual similarity scores between each pair of speakers are acquired. Next, multiple linear regression analysis is carried out; it shows that ﬁve acoustic features exhibit high correlation to voice quality similarity. Last, we perform similar speaker selection based on multiple linear regression with the above features and moreover, assess its performance by classifying speakers based on the perceptual similarity. The results indicate that the combination of the ﬁve acoustic features in classifying speakers into two classes is effective in choosing speakers with similar voice quality; it reduces the error rate by about 44 % compared to using just the cepstrum.
Life Satisfaction Dynamics with Quarterly Life Event Data

Using life satisfaction responses from Australian panel data we examine the questions of when and to what extent individuals are affected by major positive and negative life events, including changes in financial situation, marital status, death of a close relative, and being the victim of crime. The key advantage of our data is that we are able to identify these events on a quarterly basis rather than on the yearly basis used by previous studies. We find evidence that life events are not randomly distributed, that individuals anticipate major events to a large extent, and that they fully adapt to many events within 12 months. The estimates can be used to calculate monetary values needed to compensate individuals for life events. Using a new valuation methodology that incorporates these dynamic factors produces considerably smaller compensation valuations than those calculated using the standard approach.
Clinical Significance of Thrombospondin 1 Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Purpose: Thrombospondin 1 (THBS 1) is a matricellular protein capable of modulating angiogenesis. However, the actual role of THBS 1 in angiogenesis and tumor progression remains controversial. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a hypervascular tumor characterized by neovascularization. The significance of THBS 1 in HCC remains unknown. In this study, the significance of THBS 1 in HCC was evaluated by correlating its expression with clinicopathological data. The possible role of THBS 1 in the angiogenesis of HCC was also studied by correlating its expression with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. Experimental Design: Sixty HCC patients were recruited in this study. THBS 1 and VEGF protein expression in tumorous livers were localized by immunohistochemical staining and quantified by ELISA. THBS 1 mRNA was quantified by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. Results: Immunohistochemical staining of THBS 1 was positive in HCC cells in 51.7% of patients and in stromal cells in 65% of patients. Tumor THBS 1 protein level was significantly correlated with its mRNA expression (P = 0.001) and was significantly correlated with tumor VEGF protein levels (P = 0.001). Its expression was significantly associated with the presence of venous invasion (P = 0.008) and advanced tumor stage (P = 0.049). High THBS 1 expression was also a prognostic marker of poor survival in HCC patients. Conclusions: This study shows that high expression of THBS 1 is associated with tumor invasiveness and progression in HCC. THBS 1 appears to be a proangiogenic factor that stimulates angiogenesis in HCC in view of its positive correlation with VEGF expression.
Actinomyces urogenitalis Bacteremia and Tubo-Ovarian Abscess after an In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Procedure

ABSTRACT We describe the first case of bacteremia due to Actinomyces urogenitalis. Bacteremia was secondary to a tubo-ovarian abscess following transvaginal oocyte retrieval. Identification was established by matrix-assisted desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A. urogenitalis should be considered as a potential causative agent of infection after gynecological procedures.
Ligand binding and allostery can emerge simultaneously

A heterotropic allosteric effect involves an effector molecule that is distinct from the substrate or ligand of the protein. How heterotropic allostery originates is an unanswered question. We have previously created several heterotropic allosteric enzymes by recombining the genes for TEM1 β‐lactamase (BLA) and maltose binding protein (MBP) to create BLAs that are positively or negatively regulated by maltose. We show here that one of these engineered enzymes has ∼106 M−1 affinity for Zn2+, a property that neither of the parental proteins possesses. Furthermore, Zn2+ is a negative effector that noncompetitively switches off β‐lactam hydrolysis activity. Mutagenesis experiments indicate that the Zn2+‐binding site does not involve a histidine or a cysteine, which is atypical of natural Zn2+‐binding sites. These studies also implicate helices 1 and 12 of the BLA domain in allosteric signal propagation. These results support a model for the evolution of heterotropic allostery in which effector affinity and allosteric signaling emerge simultaneously.
Tissue transglutaminase is expressed, active, and directly involved in rat dermal wound healing and angiogenesis

Tissue transglutaminase (TG) is an enzyme that stabilizes the structure of tissues by covalently ligating extracellular matrix molecules. Expression and localization of TG are not well established during wound healing. We performed punch biopsy wounds on anesthetized rats and monitored the wound healing process by histological and immunohistochemical methods. The TG antigen and activity are expressed at sites of neovascularization in the provisional fibrin matrix within 24 h of wounding. Endothelial cells, macrophages, and skeletal muscle cells expressed TG throughout the healing process. The TG antigen within the wound was active in vivo based on the detection of isopeptide bonds. The TG antigen increased four‐ to fivefold by day 3 postwounding and was proteolytically degraded. TG expression occurred in association with TGF‐β, TNF‐α, IL‐6, and VEGF production in the wound. Recombinant TG increased vessel length density (a measure of angiogenesis) when applied topically in rat dorsal skin flap window chambers. We have established that TG is an important tissue stabilizing enzyme that is active during wound healing and can function to promote angiogenesis. —Haroon, Z. A. , Hettasch, J. M. , Lai, T. ‐S. , Dewhirst, M. W. , Greenberg, C. S. Tissue transglutaminase is expressed, active, and directly involved in rat dermal wound healing and angiogenesis. FASEB J. 13, 1787–1795 (1999)
Low resistance junctions between mesoderm cells during development of trunk muscles.

1. Electrical connexions between mesoderm cells have been examined during the formation of somites in Xenopus laevis, Bombina orientalis and Ambystoma mexicanum. 2. In Xenopus the resting potentials of presumptive myotome cells (‐65 + 2 mV, S.E. of mean) and somite muscle cells (‐65 +/‐ 0‐6 mV S.E. of mean) were 40 mV, greater than dermatome cells (‐25 +/‐ 0‐6 mV, S.E. of mean). Similar differences were found in Bombina and Ambystoma. 3. In all three species cells of the dermatome layer of the mesoderm were electrically coupled to each other. Cells of the presumptive myotome layer in the unsegmented region of the mesoderm were also electrically coupled. 4. In Xenopus dermatome and myotome layers of the mesoderm were not electrically coupled to each other either before or after somite formation. In the other two species dermatome and myotome layers were uncoupled once the somites had formed. 5. In all three species the position of the intersomite border in the unsegmented mesoderm region is marked by the breaking of electrical contracts between those cells destined to form the next somite and the rest of the unsegmented mesoderm. 6. In the axolotl each somite remains electrically insulated from its neighbour. In Xenopus and Bombina electrical connexions are re‐established between somite muscle cells once the morphogenetic movements underlying somite formation are complete. 7. Presumptive myotome cells in Xenopus and Ambystoma acquire the membrane property of inward‐going rectification before incorporation into a somite. 8. Once Xenopus and Bombina embryos show spontaneous movements large end‐plate potentials are recorded from the head somites. Excitation spreads from somite to somite along the low resistance intercellular pathway allowing simultaneous contraction of several somites before extensive somite innervation. 9. The structure of developing somite muscle of Xenopus has been studied with the electron microscope. 10. Close membrane contacts of the gap junction type have been seen between undifferentiated presumptive myotome cells, muscle cells in the same somite and between muscle cells in adjacent somites. 11. Myofilament organization first begins in mesoderm cells when they are forming a new somite. Complete sarcomeres appear in the head somites when the embryo begins spontaneous flexion movements.
On The Spatiotemporal Burstiness of Terms

Thousands of documents are made available to the users via the web on a daily basis. One of the most extensively studied problems in the context of such document streams is burst identification. Given a term t, a burst is generally exhibited when an unusually high frequency is observed for t. While spatial and temporal burstiness have been studied individually in the past, our work is the first to simultaneously track and measure spatiotemporal term burstiness. In addition, we use the mined burstiness information toward an efficient document-search engine: given a user's query of terms, our engine returns a ranked list of documents discussing influential events with a strong spatiotemporal impact. We demonstrate the efficiency of our methods with an extensive experimental evaluation on real and synthetic datasets.
A Simple Field Test to Assess Endurance in Inexperienced Runners

Schnitzler, C, Heck, G, Chatard, JC, and Ernwein, V. A simple field test to assess endurance in inexperienced runners. J Strength Cond Res 24(8): 2026-2031, 2010-The accuracy of a simple field test, the 3-minute, 30-second endurance capacity test (3′30″ ECT), was evaluated in 12 moderately trained athletes. It consisted of 10 3-minute running bouts, separated by 30-second passive recoveries. The first 5 bouts were performed at 75% of maximal aerobic speed (MAS, which was previously determined), and the last 5 were at a self-selected speed. The result of this test is a speed called Vend, expressed in km·h−1 and calculated as the mean speed for the last 5 bouts. The critical velocity (CV) and the individual anaerobic threshold (IAT) were also determined. Another 17 moderately trained athletes then participated in a test-retest procedure to assess the reproducibility of the 3′30″ ECT. The results showed that Vend was correlated with all studied parameters (p < 0.05). Vend and CV did not differ relative to MAS (Vend: 82.8 ± 3.3% of MAS; CV 82.5 ± 3.3% of MAS; p > 0.05). The test-retest procedure indicated a coefficient of variation of 1.99 ± 1.88%. Vend is thus an interesting indicator because (a) it is based on a noninvasive single-visit protocol, (b) its application is in the heavy exercise domain, and (c) it is highly reproducible. The 3′30″ ECT thus seems to be an adequate test to determine endurance capacity in moderately trained subjects.
Analysis of the security anomalies in the smart metering infrastructure and its impact on energy profiling and measurement

Security of the smart metering infrastructure, which is a part of the smart grid initiative, intended at transitioning the legacy power grid system into a robust, reliable, adaptable and intelligent energy utility, is an imminent problem that needs to be addressed quickly. Moreover, the increasingly intensifying integration of smart metering infrastructure with other ecosystem applications and the underlying communication technology is forcing both the consumer and the utility provider to meticulously look into the security and privacy issues of the smart grid. To achieve this, improvements on the existing architecture that uses smart meters interacting with smart grid is needed. This architecture would help in consolidation and aggregation of the energy usage and generation as intelligent communicators instead of focusing them as isolated passive units in the energy grid. The study presented in the paper analyses the various existing smart metering infrastructure, threats and vulnerabilities that has the potential to disrupt the operation and deployment of automation systems in smart grids. Furthermore, an elaborate study and subsequent analysis have been made on a live consumer meter setup in a non-invasive manner, which shows the various security loopholes and deficiencies of a large deployment of unattended smart meters. The study identifies the potential gaps and suggests possible measures for a cost effective and robust solution to cater for present as well as future needs.
BICM Transmission Using Non-Uniform QAM Constellations: Performance Analysis and Design

In this paper we study bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) transmission using non-uniform (NU) quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) constellations. For such a NUQAM-BICM transmission, we develop closed-form approximations for the probability density function of the L-values, and we use them to predict the coded bit error rate (BER)performance of the system in the AWGN channel. We then numerically optimize NU-QAM-BICM based on convolutional codes. Compared to uniform QAM-based BICM transmission, and for a target BER of 10&#8722;7, we reach gains up to 1 dB. When the design is applied to turbo codes a decrease in the error floor can be obtained.
MiR‐145 detection in urinary extracellular vesicles increase diagnostic efficiency of prostate cancer based on hydrostatic filtration dialysis method

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can be detected in body fluids and may serve as disease biomarkers. Increasing evidence suggests that circulating miRNAs in serum and urine may be potential non‐invasive biomarkers for prostate cancer (PCa). In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether hydrostatic filtration dialysis (HFD) is suitable for urinary EVs (UEVs) isolation and whether such reported PCa‐related miRNAs can be detected in UEVs as PCa biomarkers.
Modular Visitor Components: A Practical Solution to the Expression Families Problem

The expression families problem can be defined as the problem of achieving reusability and composability across the components involved in a family of related datatypes and corresponding operations over those datatypes. Like the traditional expression problem, adding new components (either variants or operations) should be possible while preserving modular and static type-safety. Moreover, different combinations of components should have different type identities and the subtyping relationships between components should be preserved. By generalizing previous work exploring the connection between type-theoretic encodings of datatypes and visitors, we propose two solutions for this problem in Scala using modular visitor components. These components can be grouped into features that can be easily composed in a feature-oriented programming style to obtain customized datatypes and operations.
La distribución factorial del ingreso en el Nuevo Modelo Económico en México

Resumen El presente documento presenta los resultados del analisis de la distribucion factorial del ingreso realizado para el periodo 1984-1996 dentro del marco del proyecto de CEPAL 'Crecimiento, empleo y equidad: America Latina en los anos noventa'. En este documento se establece que las principales reformas economicas que orientaron la economia mexicana a un sistema de mercado ocurrieron entre 1989 y 1992, generando una estructura sectorial con un uso mas intensivo de capital fisico y capital humano.La descomposicion del coeficiente de variacion y del indice de Theil indica que los incrementos en la desigualdad provienen del mercado de trabajo por factores asociados a la distribucion del capital humano. La estimacion de los rendimientos factoriales muestran para el periodo posterior a las reformas una reduccion relativa en la productividad del trabajo no calificado respecto al capital fisico y la educacion promedio. Tambien se estima un aumento relativo de la demanda de trabajo calificado respecto al no calificado. Lo anterior se refleja en incrementos en los rendimientos de la educacion superior respecto a otros niveles educativos.
Fibroblast studies documenting a case of peroxisomal 2‐methylacyl‐CoA racemase deficiency: possible link between racemase deficiency and malabsorption and vitamin K deficiency

Background 2‐Methylacyl‐CoA racemase interconverts the 2‐methyl group of pristanoyl‐CoA or the 25‐methyl group of hydroxylated cholestanoyl‐CoAs, allowing further peroxisomal desaturation of these compounds in man by the branched chain acyl‐CoA oxidase, which recognise only the S‐isomers. Hence, oxidation studies in fibroblasts, currently based on the use of racemic substrates such as [1–14C] pristanic acid, do not allow us to distinguish between a deficient racemase or an impaired oxidase.
Comparison on the performance of the confined-chacogenide with thin metal interlayer and optimised lateral phase change memories

This work, for the first time, presents the performance comparison between the lately proposed vertical confined-chacogenide phase change memory with thin metal interlayer (CCTMI) and a newly proposed optimised lateral (LP) phase change random access memory structure with a 180nm feature size. High programming current has been a critical challenge to realize a high-density. Comparison of its performance aimed on the programming power during the reset state of both technologies was carefully analysed and simulated by 3-D Finite Element Method. The results revealed that the newly proposed LP cell with optimised structure can generate heat 52% more effective than that of CCTMI.
Avaliação de desenvolvimento territorial em quatro territórios rurais no Brasil

Este artigo resulta de um projeto de pesquisa realizado por uma equipe multidisciplinar, conjugando contribuicoes das areas da agronomia, economia, sociologia e geografia, com o objetivo geral de realizar um estudo sobre o desenvolvimento territorial em quatro territorios rurais do Brasil. Cada um desses territorios apresenta graus de diferenciacao em suas dimensoes ambientais, economicas, demograficas, sociais e culturais, de organizacao politica e institucional. Assim, aplica-se o Indice de Desenvolvimento Sustentavel e sua representacao grafica, na forma do Biograma. Os resultados deste trabalho podem contribuir no debate sobre o desenvolvimento territorial rural nas suas perspectivas teorica e aplicada e subsidiar os gestores publicos sobre o alcance das politicas que vem sendo implementadas.
Methodology for Comparing Source and Plume Remediation Alternatives

It is often difficult at contaminated sites to decide whether remediation effort should be focused on the contaminant source, the dissolved plume, or on both zones. The decision process at these sites is hampered by a lack of quantitative tools for comparing remediation alternatives. A new screening‐level mass balance approach is developed for simulating the transient effects of simultaneous ground water source and plume remediation. The contaminant source model is based on a power function relationship between source mass and source discharge, and it can consider partial source remediation at any time after the initial release. The source model serves as a time‐dependent mass flux boundary condition to a new analytical plume model, where flow is assumed to be one dimensional, with three‐dimensional dispersion. The plume model simulates first‐order sequential decay and production of several species, and the decay rates and parent/daughter yield coefficients are variable functions of time and distance. This new method allows for flexible simulation of natural attenuation or remediation efforts that enhance plume degradation. The plume remediation effort may be temporary or delayed in time, limited in space, and it may have different chemical effects on different contaminant species in the decay chain.
3-D square coaxial waveguide FSS and equivalent circuit model

In this paper, a novel three-dimensional frequency selective structure (3-D FSS) based on the waveguide concept is proposed. It is constituted with square coaxial waveguide unit cells, which provides two propagation paths and three resonance modes. This structure will introduce two transmission zeros which can be used to improve the frequency selectivity. The operating principle of this FSS is first explained by mode analysis. Based on this, an equivalent circuit model for one unit cell of the FSS is then established to further understand the mechanism. There are two important parameters in the equivalent circuit model: the characteristic impedance of square coaxial line and the open-end capacitance of the structure. Two simple CAD formulas for these two parameters are derived by synthetic asymptote with the far asymptote and near asymptote obtained. The synthetic asymptote formulas are dependent on the structure parameters of the proposed FSS unit cell and they can give good physical insights. An excellent agreement was found between the results of those formulas and the numerical method. The average error is less than 2%.
Improving Numerical Accuracy of Gröbner Basis Polynomial Equation Solvers

This paper presents techniques for improving the numerical stability of Grobner basis solvers for polynomial equations. Recently Grobner basis methods have been used successfully to solve polynomial equations arising in global optimization e.g. three view triangulation and in many important minimal cases of structure from motion. Such methods work extremely well for problems of reasonably low degree, involving a few variables. Currently, the limiting factor in using these methods for larger and more demanding problems is numerical difficulties. In the paper we (i) show how to change basis in the quotient space R[x]/I and propose a strategy for selecting a basis which improves the conditioning of a crucial elimination step, (ii) use this technique to devise a Grobner basis with improved precision and (iii) show how solving for the eigenvalues instead of eigenvectors can be used to improve precision further while retaining the same speed. We study these methods on some of the latest reported uses of Grobner basis methods and demonstrate dramatically improved numerical precision using these new techniques making it possible to solve a larger class of problems than previously.