Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acoustical characterization of vocalic fillers in European Portuguese

This study attempts to acoustically characterize the most common filled pause vocalizations (or vocalic fillers) in spontaneous speech in European Portuguese: the near-open central vowel [å] and the mid-central vowel [ə]. For this purpose we analyzed the spectral information of the vocalic fillers by estimating their first two formant frequencies as well as their duration properties. The vocalic fillers are taken from a large corpus of European Portuguese broadcast news’ speech. We also compared the vocalic fillers with lexical vowels possessing similar timbre. No formant variation trend was attained for the vocalic fillers and a great overlap of formant values is observed. These results provide a base of information for understanding the most common vocalic fillers in European Portuguese spontaneous speech.
Orientations and colouring of graphs

For a graph G, we denote by v(G) its number of vertices and by e(G) its number of edges. For a digraph D, we denote by v(G) its number of vertices and by a(G) its number of arcs. If G is a (directed) graph, then the (directed) subgraph induced by a set S of vertices is denoted G〈S〉. A graph or digraph is empty if it has no edges or no arcs, respectively. If (x,y) is an arc, we write x→ y. More generally, if x→ y for all x ∈ X , y ∈Y , then we write X → Y . We abbreviate {x}→ Y in x→ Y . A source is a vertex of indegree 0, and a sink a vertex of outdegree 0. A digraph is eulerian if d+(v) = d−(v) for every vertex v. The average degree of a graph G is Ad(G) := 1 v(G) ∑v∈V (G) d(v) = 2e(G) v(G) . The maximum average degree of G is Mad(G) := max{Ad(H) |H is a subgraph of G}.
Circadian genes and breast cancer susceptibility in rotating shift workers

Rotating night shift work is associated with increased risk of breast cancer, likely via circadian disruption. We hypothesized that circadian pathway genes influence breast cancer risk, particularly in rotating night shift workers. We selected 178 common variants across 15 genes pertinent to the circadian system. Using a mixed candidate‐ and tag‐single nucleotide polymorphism approach, we tested for associations between these variants and breast cancer risk in 1,825 women within the Nurses' Health Study II cohort and investigated potential interactions between genotype and rotating shift‐work in a subset of 1,318 women. Multiple‐testing‐adjusted p‐values were obtained by permutation (n = 10,000). None of the selected variants was significantly associated with breast cancer risk. However, when accounting for potential effect modification, rs23051560 (Ala394Thr) in the largest circadian gene, Neuronal PAS domain protein 2 (NPAS2) was most strongly associated with breast cancer risk (nominal test for interaction p‐value = 0.0005; 10,000‐permutation‐based main‐effects p‐value among women with < 24 months of shift‐work = 0.003). The observed multiplicative association with breast cancer risk per minor allele (A) was 0.65 (95% CI = 0.51–0.82) among women with < 24 months of shift‐work and 1.19 (95% CI = 0.93–1.54) with ≥24 months of shift‐work. Women homozygous for the minor allele (AA) with ≥24 months of shift‐work had a 2.83‐times higher breast cancer risk compared to homozygous AA women with <24 months of shift‐work (95% CI = 1.47–5.56). In summary, common variation in circadian genes plays at most a small role in breast cancer risk among women of European ancestry. The impact of NPAS2 Ala394Thr in the presence of rotating shift‐work requires further investigation.
GASTROENTERITIS DUE TO NON–AGGLUTINABLE (NON–CHOLERA) VIBRIOS

Cholera and gastroenteritis due to various microorganisms continue to be a major international health problem. There is Increasing evidence that vibrios, similar to Vibrio cholerae, but which do not agglutinate with Vibrio cholera (0–1) antiserum, may be responsible for acute gastroenteritis In many parts of the world, although few outbreaks have been reported outside of Asia. These vibrios, as far as can be ascertained, have not been reported previously as a cause of disease in Australia. This paper deals with an outbreak of gastroenteritis due to these organisms which occurred on an International aircraft from London to Sydney. Sixty‐four passengers were known to be ill shortly after eating the suspected food vehicle, chopped egg on asparagus.
Analysis of dopamine transporter gene expression pattern − generation of DAT‐iCre transgenic mice

The dopamine transporter is an essential component of the dopaminergic synapse. It is located in the presynaptic neurons and regulates extracellular dopamine levels. We generated a transgenic mouse line expressing the Cre recombinase under the control of the regulatory elements of the dopamine transporter gene, for investigations of gene function in dopaminergic neurons. The codon‐improved Cre recombinase (iCre) gene was inserted into the dopamine transporter gene on a bacterial artificial chromosome. The pattern of expression of the bacterial artificial chromosome–dopamine transporter–iCre transgene was similar to that of the endogenous dopamine transporter gene, as shown by immunohistochemistry. Recombinase activity was further studied in mice carrying both the bacterial artificial chromosome–dopamine transporter–iCre transgene and a construct expressing the β‐galactosidase gene after Cre‐mediated recombination. In situ studies showed that β‐galactosidase (5‐bromo‐4‐chloroindol‐3‐yl β‐d‐galactoside staining) and the dopamine transporter (immunofluorescence) had identical distributions in the ventral midbrain. We used this animal model to study the distribution of dopamine transporter gene expression in hypothalamic nuclei in detail. The expression profile of tyrosine hydroxylase (an enzyme required for dopamine synthesis) was broader than that of β‐galactosidase in A12 to A15. Thus, only a fraction of neurons synthesizing dopamine expressed the dopamine transporter gene. The bacterial artificial chromosome–dopamine transporter–iCre transgenic line is a unique tool for targeting Cre/loxP‐mediated DNA recombination to dopamine neurons for studies of gene function or for labeling living cells, following the crossing of these mice with transgenic Cre reporter lines producing fluorescent proteins.
Purification and properties of bovine skeletal muscle proteasome

This paper describes the purification and properties of a multicatalytic proteinase complex, proteasome, from bovine skeletal muscle, in comparision with proteasome prepared from other species or organs. The purified bovine skeletal muscle proteasome exhibited a single band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions. Bovine skeletal muscle proteasome degraded synthetic peptides maximally at pH 8.0. Relative to pH 8.0, activities were gradually decreased with the lowering pH, but the extent of decrease was substrate-dependent, and the activity at pH 5.5 still retained 78-10% of the activity at pH 8.0, indicating the possibility that the proteasome is active in muscle during aging. When the proteasome was heated at 60°C for 15 or 30 min and treated in the presence of 0.0125% SDS, the activity increased over 1.8 and 3.1 times (LLVY (Suc-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-NH-Mec) as a substrate), respectively. These results (activation with heat or SDS) indicate that the hydrolytic activity of proteasome was stimulated under mild denaturing conditions. The characteristics of the bovine skeletal muscle proteasome obtained in our experiment were almost the same as those of the proteasome prepared from other species or organs. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2005. Vol 18, No. 6 : 884-891)
Single-channel speech separation based on deep clustering with local optimization

There are many challenges in single-channel multi-person mixed speech separation, such as modeling the temporal continuity of the speech signals and improving the frame separation performance simultaneously. In this paper, a separation method based on Deep Clustering with local optimization by the improved Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) combined with Factorial Conditional Random Fields (FCRF) is proposed. Primarily, the separated voices are achieved by Deep Clustering model which are trained by the Bi-directional Long Short Term Memory (BLSTM) and clustered by the similar features. Then, separated voice are locally optimized by the improved NMF with K-means++ and FCRF iteratively. The results show the algorithm improves the separation performance, which satisfies both the local optimum of the speech signal on each frame and the continuity of the whole speech signal.
A Navigation System for Autonomous Robot Operating in Unknown and Dynamic Environment: Escaping Algorithm

In this study, the problem of navigation in dynamic and unknown environment is investigated and a navigation method based on force field approach is suggested. It is assumed that the robot performs navigation in unknown environment and builds the map through SLAM procedure. Since the moving objects' location and properties are unknown, they are identified and tracked by Kalman filter. Kalman observer provides important information about next paths of moving objects which are employed in finding collision point and time in future. In the time of collision detection, a modifying force is added to repulsive and attractive forces corresponding to the static environment and leads the robot to avoid collision. Moreover, a safe turning angle is defined to assure safe navigation of the robot. The performance of proposed method, named Escaping Algorithm, is verified through different simulation and experimental tests. Besides, comparison between Escaping Algorithm and Probabilistic Velocity Obstacle, based on computational complexity and required steps for finishing the mission is provided in this paper. The results show Escaping Algorithm outperforms PVO in term of dynamic obstacle avoidance and complexity as a practical method for autonomous navigation Abstract—In this study, the problem of navigation in dynamic and unknown environment is investigated and a navigation method based on force field approach is suggested. It is assumed that the robot performs navigation in unknown environment and builds the map through SLAM procedure. Since the moving objects' location and properties are unknown, they are identified and tracked by Kalman filter. Kalman observer provides important information about next paths of moving objects which are employed in finding collision point and time in future. In the time of collision detection, a modifying force is added to repulsive and attractive forces corresponding to the static environment and leads the robot to avoid collision. Moreover, a safe turning angle is defined to assure safe navigation of the robot. The performance of proposed method, named Escaping Algorithm, is verified through different simulation and experimental tests. Besides, comparison between Escaping Algorithm and Probabilistic Velocity Obstacle, based on computational complexity and required steps for finishing the mission is provided in this paper. The results show Escaping Algorithm outperforms PVO in term of dynamic obstacle avoidance and complexity as a practical method for autonomous navigation.
Manufacturing Challenges in Double Patterning Lithography

We present experimental and simulation results from investigating critical issues challenging Double Patterning lithography capability to meet manufacturing requirements for 45 nm 1/2 pitch on 0.93 NA lithography system. Simulations of lithography alternatives for positive and negative patterning processes based on focus-exposure metrics show that dual-line positive process has focus and exposure dose latitudes meeting manufacturing requirements. We introduced an innovative method to calculate double patterning CDU budgets based on defining CD from its edges and pooling CD variance from two adjacent patterns. We achieved experimental double patterning minimum resolution of 40 /2 pitch on 0.93NA system, which equals 0.19kl. Predictive simulations indicate that double patterning overlay budget should be 70% or lower compared to single exposure application. Experimental overlay measurements on wafers exposed on state of the art 0.93NA system demonstrate current capability of ges 6 nm overlay with 53% probability to meet 4 nm overlay in single exposure applications and 30% probability to meet 4 nm overlay in a double patterning applications.
Epistasis and its possible effects on transmission disequilibrium tests

Most approaches to analysing complex genetic disorders are based on an underlying model that assumes that the probability of being affected is mainly due to the effect of a major, single disease locus. Where the penetrance (the conditional probability of being affected) is hypothesised to be influenced by known covariates, methods have been developed to accommodate these covariates appropriately in the analysis. Unexplained variation in the incomplete penetrance is then attributed to either unspecified environmental effects or to other genes of small effect that might act epistatically with the ‘disease gene’. Recently, there have been some proposals to incorporate two (or more) possibly epistatic identified loci as major effects in the analysis. However, the effect of two (or more) major epistatic disease genes on the analysis of data that assumes a single ‘disease gene’, and so ignores any other major gene, does not seem to have been explored. This investigation is undertaken here for triad data consisting of affected singletons and their parents. Following development of a quite general underlying genetic model, a global approach to analysing two marker loci for triad data is developed. This approach is the appropriate one for such data where two, possibly epistatic, loci have been identified a priori. The motivation for the development of this methodology is to evaluate the possible effect a second epistatic disease locus might be having on the results for triad data collected and analysed in different population studies, where the underlying analysis is based on an underlying major, single disease locus model. It is shown that, dependent on the population parameters associated with the other unidentified major disease gene, results concerning the single ‘disease gene’ can vary markedly. So, finding that conclusions differ from study to study may be indicative of the ‘disease gene’ under investigation acting epistatically with other major disease genes.
Fine tuning of rabbit equilibrative nucleoside transporter activity by an alternatively spliced variant

The full-length cDNA encoding an equilibrative nucleoside transporter (rbENT2) and its novel C-terminal variant, rbENT2A, were isolated from rabbit trachea. Rabbit ENT2 protein consists of 456 amino acid residues; rbENT2A is shorter by 41 residues. Both rbENT2 and rbENT2A transcripts are found in rabbit tissues including intestine, kidney cortex, kidney, and trachea, at varying levels of expression. When transfected in a heterologous expression system—Madin Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cell line—both rbENT2 and rbENT2A were expressed. rbENT2 had a molecular mass of 49 kDa; rbENT2A had a molecular mass of 44 kDa. Clones of both transporters yielded functional proteins that were capable of mediating uridine uptake and efflux without the needing to be coupled to a secondary ion (e.g. Na+). Remarkably, rbENT2A displayed a higher affinity (Km = 41 μM) and a lower capacity (Vmax = 0.6 nmol/mg protein/5 min) towards substrates than rbENT2 (Km = 272.8 μM, Vmax = 1.26 nmol/mg protein/5 min). Pharmacological profiles showed that nitro-benzyl-mercapto-purine-ribose (NBMPR) potently inhibited 3H-uridine uptake mediated by rbENT2A, but not uptake mediated by rbENT2. The constitutive splicing, broad expression, markedly different kinetics, and distinct pharmacological characteristics of rbENT2A appear to act in conjunction with the wild type, rbENT2, to fine-tune basolateral nucleoside transport function in rabbit trachea.
An evaluation of pediatric dental patient education materials using contemporary health literacy measures.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine the appropriateness of nationally available dental information materials according to the suitability assessment of materials (SAM) method. METHODS Clinically related, professionally produced patient dental health education materials (N=22) provided by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) were evaluated using the SAM method that had previously been judged valid and reliable. A rater was trained by an experienced health literacy evaluator to establish validity. The rater then rated all materials for 5 categories of assessment (content, literacy demand, graphics, layout and typography, and learning stimulation/motivation) and an overall assessment, and repeated 5 materials to establish intrarater reliability. RESULTS When compared to the experienced rater, the validity was K=0.43. The reliability was established for all ratings as K=0.52. The consistently weakest categories were content, graphics, and learning stimulation, while reading level as part of literacy demand was often not suitable. The overall suitability of the AAPD materials was generally classified as superior. CONCLUSIONS Reliable and valid evaluation of available dental patient information materials can be accomplished. The materials were largely superior. There is great variability within the categories of evaluation. The categories of content, graphics, and learning stimulation require attention and could raise the overall quality of the materials.
Evaluating the Content of LMF Standardized Dictionaries

Since the age of paper versions, dictionaries are often published with anomalies in their content resulting from lexicographer’s mistakes or from the lack of efficiency of automatic enrichment systems. Many of these anomalies are expensive to manually detect and difficult to automatically control, notably with lightly structured models of dictionaries. In this article, we take advantage of the fine structure proposed by the Lexical Markup Framework (LMF) norm to investigate the detection of anomalies in the content of LMF normalized dictionaries. First, we give a theoretical study on the plausible anomalies, such as inconsistency, incoherence, redundancy, and incompleteness. Second, we detail the approach that we propose for the automatic detection of such anomalies. Finally, we report on an experiment carried out on an available normalized dictionary of the Arabic language. The experiment has shown that the proposed approach gives reasonable results in terms of precision and recall.
Neurogenesis-enhancing effect of sodium ferulate and its role in repair following stress-induced neuronal damage

Ferulic acid (FA) is a ubiquitous phenolic acid of low toxicity, and sodium ferulate (SF) is its sodium salt. Our previous studies have revealed that FA shows neuroprotective effect and significant antidepressant- like effect. The aim of this study was to investigate its potential neurogenesis-enhancing effect and its role in repair following stress-induced neuronal damage. MTT assay was performed to measure the effect of SF on the growth of rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells; morphological and immunocytochemical meth- ods were used for assessing its differentiation-induc- ing action. Chronic mild stress (CMS) tests were per- formed to establish rat model of depression. The histopathology of animal brains was studied to ana- lyze CMS-induced morphological changes and the effect of SF on the repair of CMS-induced brain in- jury. The expressions of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the proliferation of neural stem cell/neural progenitor cells were assessed in the hippocampi of chronic mild stress (CMS)-induced depression-like model rats by immunohistochemistry and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)- incorporation assays, respectively. Our in vitro tests showed that SF promoted the proliferation of PC12 cells in the concentration range of 5 - 320 μM, and induced PC12 cells to differentiate to more mature cells with the morphological characteristics and mo- lecular marker of neuronal-like cells. In vivo tests showed that SF up-regulated the expressions of NGF and BDNF, and induced the proliferation of neural stem cell/neural progenitor cells in the hippocampi of CMS-induced depression-like model rats. This study provides evidences that SF shows neurogenesis-en- hancing effect, and its antidepressant-like effect of SF may be related directly and closely to its above-men- tioned effect.
Assessment of biological and molecular variability between and within field isolates of Plasmodiophora brassicae

Plasmodiophora brassicae is an obligate biotroph that causes clubroot, one of the most damaging diseases of crucifers. Differential cultivars and random amplified polymorphic DNA markers were used to assess the extent of genetic diversity among nine single-gall populations of P. brassicae and 37 single-spore isolates (SSI) derived from four of those field samples. Isolates were classified into eight pathotypes, and each isolate was associated with a unique molecular genotype. Virulence and DNA polymorphisms were detected within and between field isolates, and among SSIs from different pathotypes, hosts and geographical origins. The relatively high level of genetic diversity among field isolates was similar to that among SSIs derived from a single-club field isolate. Molecular and pathogenicity-based classifications were not clearly correlated, but isolates belonging to pathotype P1 were clustered. Two RAPD markers were specific to pathotype P1. The finding that genetic differences can occur in P. brassicae field isolates will be an important consideration in resistance genetic studies and in choosing breeding strategies to develop durable clubroot resistance.
The National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being in Australia: Impact on Policy

Objective: To provide a synopsis of the 3-part National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being in Australia and to examine the yield in terms of policy and other changes in mental and general health services. Method: Published data are examined, and a commentary is provided on service-delivery issues that the data have revealed. Results: One-year prevalence estimates for the common mental disorders, defined according to ICD-10 criteria and assessed using the automated version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI-A), have indicated rates similar to those of other countries (17.7%). Alarmingly high rates were found for alcohol and substance abuse in young persons, especially among young men. The number of years of life lost owing to disability attributable to mental disorders exceeds the number lost owing to cardiovascular disease and cancer. Only 35% of persons with 1 or more of the common mental disorders had sought help in the 12 months prior to interview. The point prevalence for mental health problems was 14% for persons aged 4 to 17 years. The point prevalence for psychotic disorders was 4.7 per 1000. An encouraging finding is that 81% of affected individuals had been to their general practitioner (GP) in the last year. However, only 20% had participated in any rehabilitation program in the past year. Conclusions: The Survey results are based on a national population sample, not on individuals reaching services. They have therefore proved to be of great value in influencing policy at federal and state levels and may have contributed to increased funding for both services and research.