Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Mandarin TTS system with an integrated prosodic model

Phrase grouping is essential to characterize the prosody of Mandarin fluent speech. Evidence of prosodic phrase grouping has been found both in adjustments of F/sub 0/ contours and temporal allocations within and across phrases. We discuss the development of a Mandarin TTS system that integrates prosody processing modules, such as duration modeling, F/sub 0/ modeling, and break predictions. The database consists of 1292/spl times/3 syllable-tokens chopped off specially designed three-phrase carrier sentences. Since temporal allocations and rhythmic structure in speech flow are carefully dealt with, the TTS system is capable of converting long paragraph text input into natural synthesized speech output.
Demarcation of bacterial ecotypes from DNA sequence data: A comparative analysis of four algorithms

Identification of closely related, ecologically distinct populations of bacteria would benefit microbiologists working in many fields including systematics, epidemiology, and biotechnology. Several laboratories have recently developed algorithms aimed at demarcating such “ecotypes. ” In this paper we examine the ability of four of these algorithms to correctly identify ecotypes from sequence data (along with, in the case of one algorithm, information on the habitats where organisms were isolated). We test the algorithms on synthetic sequences, with known history and habitat associations, generated under the Stable Ecotype model [1], and on data from Bacillus strains isolated from Death Valley where previous work [2] has confirmed the existence of multiple ecotypes. We find that one of the algorithms (Ecotype Simulation) performs significantly better than the others (AdaptML, GMYC, BAPS) in both instances. Unfortunately, it is also shown to be the least efficient of the four.
Increased prevalence of subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism in persons with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have suggested a higher prevalence of thyroid abnormalities in persons with end-stage renal disease. However, little is known regarding the epidemiology of thyroid disorders in persons with less severe kidney dysfunction. METHODS We used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the prevalence of hypothyroidism (clinical and subclinical) at different levels of estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR). We used multivariable logistic regression to evaluate the association between GFR and prevalent hypothyroidism. RESULTS Among 14,623 adult participants with serum creatinine and thyroid function test results, the mean age was 48.7 years, and 52.6% were women. The prevalence of hypothyroidism increased with lower levels of GFR (in units of mL/min/1.73 m(2)), occurring in 5.4% of subjects with GFR >/=90, 10.9% with GFR 60-89, 20.4% with GFR 45-59, 23.0% with GFR 30-44, and 23.1% with GFR <30 (P < 0.001 for trend). Overall, 56% of hypothyroidism cases were considered subclinical. Compared with GFR >/=90 mL/min/1.73 m(2), reduced GFR was associated with an increased risk of hypothyroidism, after adjusting for age, gender, and race/ethnicity: adjusted odds ratio 1.07 (95% confidence interval: 0.86-1.32) for GFR 60-89, 1.57 (1.11-2.22) for GFR 45-59, 1.81 (1.04-3.16) for GFR 30-44, and 1.97 (0.69-5.61) for GFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (P= 0.008 for trend). CONCLUSION Among a nationally representative sample of adults, reduced glomerular filtration rate was associated with a higher prevalence of hypothyroidism, with many subclinical cases. Future studies are needed to determine the potential adverse effects of subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism in persons with chronic kidney disease.
Partial least squares based analysis of pathways in recurrent breast cancer.

PURPOSE Breast cancer remains a major health problem even with all the recent technological advancements. Large-scale gene expression analysis has offered great ease for both biological characterization and therapeutic planning of breast cancer. Previous studies mostly used variance/regression analysis, which becomes fundamentally flawed when there are unaccounted array specific factors. Here we aim to investigate the underlying mechanism of breast cancer through partial least squares (PLS) based gene expression profile analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS With a gene expression profile data set downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, we performed PLS based analysis. RESULTS We acquire 932 and 771 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in breast cancer metastasis of estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive and ER-negative patients, respectively. For ER-positive patients, 32 pathways were found to be enriched with DEGs, including immune related pathways, cellular processes and environmental information processing pathways. Survival analysis demonstrated that 18 of them were closely related with non-recurrence rate along time after surgery. For ER negative patients, only three pathways including the folate biosynthesis pathway were enriched with DEGs and none of them overlapped with those of ER positive patients. Only the cholinergic synapse pathway was significantly associated with the non-recurrence rate according to the survival analysis. CONCLUSIONS Our findings shed light on pathways involved in breast cancer relapse with the hope to give some theoretical supports for further therapeutic study.
Thermal imprint feature analysis for face recognition

Recently, vein pattern biometrics has attracted increasing interest from both research and industrial communities. The properties of uniqueness, stability and strong immunity to forgery of the vein patterns would make a potentially good biometric trait offer secure and reliable features for person identity verification. In this paper, a novel approach for personal verification by analyzing the face patterns formed by thermal imaging is presented. A new feature set is proposed to represent the thermal face: the bifurcation points of the thermal pattern and the geographical gravity center of the thermal face region. We proposed to use the Modified Hausdorff Distance to measure the similarity between two feature vectors of the thermal face. The work in this paper shows that the thermal face patterns can provide a reasonable level of discriminating power, and has the potential to be used in the context of biometric applications especially when used in conjunction with other biometric modals.
Observations on Cognitive Judgments

It is obvious to anyone familiar with the rules of the game of chess that a king on an empty board can reach every square. It is true, but not obvious, that a knight can reach every square. Why is the first fact obvious but the second fact not? This paper presents an analytic theory of a class of obviousness judgments of this type. Whether or not the specifics of this analysis are correct, it seems that the study of obviousness judgments can be used to construct integrated theories of linguistics, knowledge representation, and inference.
Codification of Legislation on Physical Culture, Sports, and Tourism

The USSR Constitution and the constitutions of union and autonomous republics are the basis of all normative material in the area of physical culture, sports, and tourism. They consider physical culture, sports, and tourism among the most important areas of state activity and define their essence, significance, content, and particulars under the conditions of developed socialism. The interconnected cultural-educational function and the social development function defined in the chapter on "Social Development and Culture" of the USSR Constitution regulate the special purpose of physical culture, sports, and tourism as components of these functions.1 The goals and tasks of physical culture and sports under present conditions are also revealed in the process of the state's realization of economic, organizational, and social service functions. Physical culture, sports, and tourism are thus components of four interconnected functions of the Soviet state that are highly relevant to general culture, health promo.
Properties of Slicing Definitions

Weiser's original papers on slicing defined the concept in an informal way. Since then there have been several attempts to formalise slicing using various formal methods and semantics of programs. In this paper we start by defining some properties that a definition of slicing might reasonably be expected to satisfy and then compare different definitions of slicing to see which properties are satisfied. Properties are classified into "floor" requirements: all slices satisfying the property must be considered as valid, and "ceiling" requirements: slices which do not satisfy the property must not be considered valid. Any slicing relation which lies above a "floor" requirement, or below a "ceiling" requirement, satisfies the property in question. The main result of the paper is the proof that, given a certain property of the programming language (informally: it is possible to write an infinite loop in the language), two of the most basic and fundamental properties of slicing are sufficient to completely characterise the semantic part of the slicing relation. These properties are: behaviour preservation and truncation.
On the complexity of branching programs and decision trees for clique functions

Exponential lower bounds on the complexity of computing the clique functions in the Boolean decision-tree model are proved. For one-time-only branching programs, large polynomial lower bounds are proved for <italic>k</italic>-clique functions if <italic>k</italic> is fixed, and exponential lower bounds if <italic>k</italic> increases with <italic>n</italic>. Finally, the hierarchy of the classes BP<subscrpt><italic>d</italic></subscrpt>(<italic>P</italic>) of all sequences of Boolean functions that may be computed by <italic>d</italic>-times only branching programs of polynomial size is introduced. It is shown constructively that BP<subscrpt>1</subscrpt>(<italic>P</italic>) is a proper subset of BP<subscrpt>2</subscrpt>(<italic>P</italic>).
A 20-GHz InP-HBT voltage-controlled oscillator with wide frequency tuning range

This paper presents the design and implementation of a 20-GHz-band differential voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) using InP heterojunction-bipolar-transistor process technology. Aimed at 20- or 40-Gb/s fiber-optic applications, the design is based on a single-stage feedback amplifier with no intentional L or C. The salient features of the proposed VCO are wide frequency tuning range compared to LC oscillators, and low power consumption and transistor count compared to ring-oscillator counterparts. The implemented VCO has an adjustable frequency range from 13.75 to 21.5 GHz and provides two complementary outputs. Total power consumption at 18.6 GHz is 130 mW, while the phase noise is -90.0 dBc/Hz measured at 1-MHz offset frequency.
Analysis of Residual DSBs in Ataxia-Telangiectasia Lymphoblast Cells Initiating Apoptosis

In order to examine the relationship between accumulation of residual DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and cell death, we have used a control and an ATM (Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated) defective cell line, as Ataxia-Telangiectasia (AT) cells tend to accumulate residual DSBs at long times after damage infliction. After irradiation, AT cells showed checkpoint impairment and a fraction of cells displayed an abnormal centrosome number and tetraploid DNA content, and this fraction increased along with apoptosis rates. At all times analyzed, AT cells displayed a significantly higher rate of radiation-induced apoptosis than normal cells. Besides apoptosis, 70–85% of the AT viable cells (TUNEL-negative) carried ≥10 γH2AX foci/cell, while only 12–27% of normal cells did. The fraction of AT and normal cells undergoing early and late apoptosis were isolated by flow cytometry and residual DSBs were concretely scored in these populations. Half of the γH2AX-positive AT cells undergoing early apoptosis carried ≥10 γH2AX foci/cell and this fraction increased to 75% in late apoptosis. The results suggest that retention of DNA damage-induced γH2AX foci is an indicative of lethal DNA damage, as cells undergoing apoptosis are those accumulating more DSBs. Scoring of residual γH2AX foci might function as a predictive tool to assess radiation-induced apoptosis.
Heritability of Self-Reported Asthma and Allergy: A Study in Adult Dutch Twins, Siblings and Parents

Abstract The present study assessed the prevalence of asthma and allergy, and estimated the importance of genetic and environmental influences on asthma and allergy liability and their association. Longitudinal data on self-reported, doctor-diagnosed asthma and allergy were collected in over 14,000 individuals registered with the Netherlands Twin Register. Structural equation modeling was used for univariate and bivariate genetic analyses on data from twins, their siblings, and parents. Results showed no sex, age, and minimal birth cohort effects for asthma prevalence (11.8%). For allergy, prevalence was higher in women (19.8%) than in men (13.9%). Allergy prevalence at ages 22, 23, and 24 years increased from the 1970 to the 1980 birth cohort. The prevalence of allergy, but not of asthma, was higher in nontwin siblings than in twins. No assortative mating was observed. High (broad-sense) heritabilities were found for asthma (75%) and allergy (66%), with evidence for nonadditive genetic effects in asthma. The association between asthma and allergy (correlation = .65) was largely due to common genes (70%). No sex differences in genetic architecture were found. In conclusion, the prevalence of allergy but not of asthma increased in recent years. Individual differences in the liability to asthma, allergy and their co-occurrence are for a large part accounted for by differences in genetic background. Nonadditive gene action is important, which may have consequences for gene hunting strategies.
Clinical Application of Dichotic Multiple-Stimulus Auditory Steady-State Responses in High-Risk Newborns and Young Children

Experience with dichotic multiple-stimulus auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs) in clinical practice is described. ASSR thresholds were assessed in a sample of 60 high-risk newborns and young children between birth and 4 years of age. Amplitudes and signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the ASSR were compared between normal-hearing infants and adults. Age-related changes within a group of infants younger than 3 months of age were investigated. A comparison was made between ASSR, the click-evoked auditory brainstem response and behavioral hearing thresholds in infants with a wide range of hearing threshold levels. Mean ASSR thresholds for normal-hearing infants at an average corrected age of 12 days were 42 ± 10, 35 ± 10, 32 ± 10 and 36 ± 9 dB SPL for 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz, respectively. Compared to adults, these thresholds were elevated by on average 11 dB and SNRs were 1.7 times smaller. However, based on ASSRs, reasonably accurate estimations could be made of behavioral hearing thresholds obtained at a later age (median delay of 7 months). The predicted thresholds were in 61% of the cases within 10 dB of the corresponding behavioral thresholds, and in 83% of the cases within 15 dB. In less than 1 h, thresholds at four frequencies per ear could be obtained. The optimal age of testing is between 1 week and 3 months corrected age. The dichotic multiple-stimulus ASSR technique is a valuable extension of the clinical test battery for hearing-impaired children, as a follow-up diagnostic after the neonatal hearing screening.
What Size Test Set Gives Good Error Rate Estimates?

We address the problem of determining what size test set guarantees statistically significant results in a character recognition task, as a function of the expected error rate. We provide a statistical analysis showing that if, for example, the expected character error rate is around 1 percent, then, with a test set of at least 10,000 statistically independent handwritten characters (which could be obtained by taking 100 characters from each of 100 different writers), we guarantee, with 95 percent confidence, that: (1) the expected value of the character error rate is not worse than 1.25 E, where E is the empirical character error rate of the best recognizer, calculated on the test set; and (2) a difference of 0.3 E between the error rates of two recognizers is significant. We developed this framework with character recognition applications in mind, but it applies as well to speech recognition and to other pattern recognition problems.
Bounds on the greedy routing algorithm for array networks

We extend previous work on greedy routing for array networks by providing bounds on the average delay and the average number of packets in the system. We analyze the dynamic routing problem, where packets are generated at each node according to a Poisson process. Each packet is sent to a destination chosen uniformly at random. Packets are routed greedily, first moving to the correct column and then to the correct row. Packets require unit time to travel across a directed edge between nodes; only a single packet can cross an edge at any given time, and packets waiting for an edge are buffered. Our bounds are based on comparisons with computationally more simple queueing networks, and the methods used are generally applicable to other network systems. A primary contribution of the paper is a new lower bound technique that also improves on the previous lower bounds by Stamoulis and Tsitsiklis for heavily loaded hypercube networks. [11] On heavily loaded array networks, our lower and upper bounds differ by only a small constant factor. We further examine extensions of the problem where our methods prove useful. For example, we consider variations where edges can have different transmission rates or the destination distribution is non-uniform. In particular, we study to what extent optimally configured array networks outperform the standard array network.
Automatic generation of cost-effective test oracles

Software testing is the primary activity to guarantee some level of quality of software systems. In software testing, the role of test oracles is crucial: The quality of test oracles directly affects the effectiveness of the testing activity and influences the final quality of software systems. So far, research in software testing focused mostly on automating the generation of test inputs and the execution of test suites, paying less attention to the generation of test oracles. Available techniques for generating test oracle are either effective but expensive or inexpensive but ineffective. Our research work focuses on the generation of cost-effective test oracles. Recent research work has shown that modern software systems can provide the same functionality through different execution sequences. In other words, multiple execution sequences perform the same, or almost the same, action. This phenomenon is called intrinsic redundancy of software systems. We aim to design and develop a completely automated technique to generate test oracles by exploiting the intrinsic redundancy freely available in the software. Test oracles generated by our technique check the equivalence between a given execution sequence and all the redundant and supposedly equivalent execution sequences that are available. The results obtained so far are promising.
Dexmedetomidine May Produce Extra Protective Effects on Sepsis-induced Diaphragm Injury

Objective: The objective was to evaluate the protective effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX), a selective agonist of &agr;2-adrenergic receptor, on sepsis-induced diaphragm injury and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Data Sources: The data used in this review were mainly from PubMed articles published in English from 1990 to 2015. Study Selection: Clinical or basic research articles were selected mainly according to their level of relevance to this topic. Results: Sepsis could induce severe diaphragm dysfunction and exacerbate respiratory weakness. The mechanism of sepsis-induced diaphragm injury includes the increased inflammatory cytokines and excessive oxidative stress and superfluous production of nitric oxide (NO). DEX can reduce inflammatory cytokines, inhibit nuclear factor-kappaB signaling pathways, suppress the activation of caspase-3, furthermore decrease oxidative stress and inhibit NO synthase. On the basis of these mechanisms, DEX may result in a shorter period of mechanical ventilation in septic patients in clinical practice. Conclusions: Based on this current available evidence, DEX may produce extra protective effects on sepsis-induced diaphragm injury. Further direct evidence and more specific studies are still required to confirm these beneficial effects.
Hunting at the highway: traffic noise reduces foraging efficiency in acoustic predators

Noise pollution from human traffic networks and industrial activity impacts vast areas of our planet. While anthropogenic noise effects on animal communication are well documented, we have very limited understanding of noise impact on more complex ecosystem processes, such as predator–prey interactions, albeit urgently needed to devise mitigation measures. Here, we show that traffic noise decreases the foraging efficiency of an acoustic predator, the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis). These bats feed on large, ground-running arthropods that they find by listening to their faint rustling sounds. We measured the bats' foraging performance on a continuous scale of acoustically simulated highway distances in a behavioural experiment, designed to rule out confounding factors such as general noise avoidance. Successful foraging bouts decreased and search time drastically increased with proximity to the highway. At 7.5 m to the road, search time was increased by a factor of five. From this increase, we predict a 25-fold decrease in surveyed ground area and thus in foraging efficiency for a wild bat. As most of the bats' prey are predators themselves, the noise impact on the bats' foraging performance will have complex effects on the food web and ultimately on the ecosystem stability. Similar scenarios apply to other ecologically important and highly protected acoustic predators, e.g. owls. Our study provides the empirical basis for quantitative predictions of anthropogenic noise impacts on ecosystem processes. It highlights that an understanding of the effects of noise emissions and other forms of ‘sensory pollution’ are crucially important for the assessment of environmental impact of human activities.
Polynomial Time Algorithms for Label Size Maximization on Rotating Maps

Map labeling is a problem of placing labels at corresponding graphical features on a map. There are two optimization problems: the label number maximization problem and the label size maximization problem. In general, both problems are NP-hard for static maps. Recently, the widespread use of several applications, such as personal mapping systems, has increased the importance of dynamic maps and the label number maximization problem for dynamic cases has been studied. In this paper, we consider the label size maximization problem for points on rotating maps. Our model is as follows. For each label, a point is chosen inside the label or on its boundary as an anchor point. Each label is placed such that the anchor point coincides with the corresponding point on the map. Furthermore, while the map fully rotates from 0 to 2π, the labels are placed horizontally according to the angle of the map. Our problem consists of finding the maximum scale factor for the labels such that the labels do not intersect, and deciding the place of the anchor points. We propose an O(n log n)-time and O(n)-space algorithm for the case where each anchor point is inside the label. Moreover, if the labels are of unit-height (or unit-width) and the anchor points are on the boundary, we also present an O(n log n)-time and O(n)-space algorithm.