Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An investigation of how to design control parameters for statistical voice timbre control

Multiple-regression Gaussian mixture models (MR-GMM) allow for control of voice timbre along several axes each described by a voice timbre expression word. To create these axes, perceptual scores corresponding to multiple voice timbre expression words are manually assigned to individual pre-stored target speakers as the voice timbre control parameters, and then acoustic basis vectors corresponding to the individual control parameters are learned. The voice timbre expression words are usually selected from various words using factor analysis so that the voice timbre control parameters are independent of each other. However, the resulting basis vectors are not often orthogonal to each other, and they practically cause difficulties in intuitively controlling the converted voice timbre. Towards the development of the MR-GMM capable of intuitively controlling converted voice timbre, we investigate how to design the voice timbre control parameters so that not only the voice timbre control parameters but also the corresponding acoustic basis vectors are independent of each other. Experimental results demonstrate that 1) a method for annotation of the voice timbre control parameters using the converted voices rather than natural voices is effective, and 2) the independences of the voice timbre control parameters and acoustic basis vectors is helpful for improving the converted voice timbre controllability of the MR-GMM.
Bioactivity and mineralization of natural hydroxyapatite from cuttlefish bone and Bioglass® co‐sintered bioceramics

In this study, bioactive hydroxyapatite (HAP)‐based bioceramics starting from cuttlefish bone powders have been prepared and characterized. In particular, fragmented cuttlefish bone was co‐sintered with 30 wt% of Bioglass®‐45S5 to synthesize HAP‐based powders with enhanced mechanical properties and bioactivity. Commercial synthetic HAP was treated following the same procedure and used as a reference. The structure and composition of the bioceramics formulations were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. After the thermal treatment of cuttlefish bone powder added with 30 wt% Bioglass, new phases with compositions of sodium calcium phosphate [Na3Ca6(PO4)5], β‐tricalcium phosphate [Ca3(PO4)] and amorphous silica were detected. In vitro cell culture studies were performed by evaluating proliferation, metabolic activity and differentiation of human osteoblast‐like cells (MG63). Scaffolds made with cuttlefish bone powder exhibited increased apatite deposition, alkaline phosphatase activity and cell proliferation compared with commercial synthetic HAP. In addition, the ceramic compositions obtained after the combination with Bioglass® further enhanced the metabolic activity of MG63 cell and promoted the formation of a well‐developed apatite layer after 7 days of incubation in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium.
HIV-1 Evolution under Pressure of Protease Inhibitors: Climbing the Stairs of Viral Fitness

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) has evolved into a viral quasispecies with a high replication capacity or fitness. Antiretroviral drugs potently inhibit replication of the wild-type virus, but HIV-1 responds by selection of drug-resistant variants. Here we review, in brief, the evolution of resistance to protease inhibitors that is characterized by severe fitness losses and an abundance of subsequent repair strategies. The possibility to restrict HIV-1 fitness is discussed in relation to the control of HIV-1 pathogenesis.
The forgotten pillar: a definition for the measurement of social sustainability in American cities

ABSTRACT This article provides a timely review of the interdisciplinary and disjointed literature on social sustainability and identifies some readily available measures of this concept for American cities. Based upon a comprehensive review of the literature, four broad dimensions are identified as being reflective of social sustainability: equal access and opportunity, environmental justice, community and the value of place, and basic human needs. Breaking these four dimensions into measurable indicators, this research provides a method for researchers and for American cities to begin to evaluate and to assess social sustainability efforts within their jurisdictions.
Rate of introduction of a low pathogenic avian influenza virus infection in different poultry production sectors in the Netherlands

Please cite this paper as: Gonzales et al. (2012) Rate of introduction of a low pathogenic avian influenza virus infection in different poultry production sectors in the Netherlands. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses DOI: 10.1111/j.1750‐2659.2012. 00348.x.
Evidence for circulating activated cytotoxic T cells in HIV‐infected subjects before the onset of opportunistic infections

The activity of both cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and natural killer (NK) cells were measured cross‐sectionally in 43 subjects seropositive for HIV, in 27 HIV‐ blood donors and in 24 HIV persons from the Outpatients Clinic for sexually transmitted diseases. CTL activity was evaluated using the HL‐60 cells coated with OKT3 as the targets and freshly separated peripheral blood lymphocytes as the effectors. In 20 out of 43 HIV+ subjects, CTL activity was significantly enhanced in comparison to the HIV subjects. This lytic activity correlated positively with the percentages of CD3+ HLA‐DR+, of CD8+ CR3‐ and of CD57+CD16‐ lymphocytes, and was greatly reduced after elimination of CD8+ of HLA‐DR+ or of CD57+ cells. The median CTL activity seemed to increase from CDC group II to CDC group IV (Centers for Disease Control classification), but to return back to control levels in those patients with a history of opportunistic infections. NK function in HIV+ subjects was not significantly different from that in the blood donors. In seropositive patients, NK activity correlated positively with the percentages of both CD16+CD57+ and of CD8+ CR3+ cells and was strongly diminished after elimination of CD16 + or of CD57+ cells. There was no significant change in NK function according to the clinical stage. The data show that circulating CD8+HLA‐DR+ CTJ57+ T cells in HIV+ subjects are activated cytotoxic T cells and point to progressive (over) activation of this T cell compartment until the onset of opportunistic infections.
The Effect of Patient Portals on Quality Outcomes and Its Implications to Meaningful Use: A Systematic Review

Background The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act imposes pressure on health care organizations to qualify for “Meaningful Use”. It is assumed that portals should increase patient participation in medical decisions, but whether or not the use of portals improves outcomes remains to be seen. Objective The purpose of this systemic review is to outline and summarize study results on the effect of patient portals on quality, or chronic-condition outcomes as defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and its implications to Meaningful Use since the beginning of 2011. This review updates and builds on the work by Ammenwerth, Schnell-Inderst, and Hoerbst. Methods We performed a systematic literature search in PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. We identified any data-driven study, quantitative or qualitative, that examined a relationship between patient portals, or patient portal features, and outcomes. We also wanted to relate the findings back to Meaningful Use criteria. Over 4000 articles were screened, and 27 were analyzed and summarized for this systematic review. Results We identified 26 studies and 1 review, and we summarized their findings and applicability to our research question. Very few studies associated use of the patient portal, or its features, to improved outcomes; 37% (10/27) of papers reported improvements in medication adherence, disease awareness, self-management of disease, a decrease of office visits, an increase in preventative medicine, and an increase in extended office visits, at the patient’s request for additional information. The results also show an increase in quality in terms of patient satisfaction and customer retention, but there are weak results on medical outcomes. Conclusions The results of this review demonstrate that more health care organizations today offer features of a patient portal than in the review published in 2011. Articles reviewed rarely analyzed a full patient portal but instead analyzed features of a portal such as secure messaging, as well as disease management and monitoring. The ability of patients to be able to view their health information electronically meets the intent of Meaningful Use, Stage 2 requirements, but the ability to transmit to a third party was not found in the review.
Construction of FLAG and histidine tagging vectors for Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Schizosaccharomyces pombe is becoming an increasingly popular model system for investigating important cellular processes. To facilitate detection, purification and functional studies of Sz. pombe gene products, we constructed two tagging expression vectors for use in Sz. pombe. These vectors allow proteins to be expressed ectopically as fusion proteins with a FLAG epitope and six histidine residue tags attached to their N‐terminus or C‐terminus. The function and applicability of these vectors were examined and the results are shown using the N‐terminal tagging vector encoding Sfc6p, a subunit of the Sz. pombe RNA polymerase III general transcription factor, TFIIIC. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cortical Thickness Analysis to Detect Progressive Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Reference to Alzheimer’s Disease

Background/Aims: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It would be advantageous to be able to distinguish the characteristics of those MCI patients with a high probability to progress to AD if one wishes to monitor the disease development and treatment. Methods: We assessed the baseline MRI and maximum of 7 years clinical follow-up data of 60 MCI subjects in order to examine differences in cortical thickness (CTH) between the progressive MCI (P-MCI) and stable MCI (S-MCI) subjects. CTH was measured using an automatic computational surface-based method. During the follow-up, 15 MCI subjects converted to AD on average 1.9 ± 1.3 years after the baseline examination, while 45 MCI subjects remained stable. Results: The P-MCI group displayed significantly reduced CTH bilaterally in the superior and middle frontal, superior, middle and inferior temporal, fusiform and parahippocampal regions as well as the cingulate and retrosplenial cortices and also in the right precuneal and paracentral regions compared to S-MCI subjects. Conclusions: Analysis of CTH could be used in conjunction with neuropsychological testing to identify those subjects with imminent conversion from MCI to AD several years before dementia diagnosis.
Interspecies scaling of urinary excretory amounts of nine drugs belonging to different therapeutic areas with diverse chemical structures – accurate prediction of the human urinary excretory amounts

Abstract 1. The human urinary excretory amounts of total drug (parent + metabolites) were predicted for nine drugs with diverse chemical structures using simple allometry. The drugs used for scaling were cephapirin, olanzapine, labetolol, carisbamate, voriconazole, tofacitinib, nevirapine, ropinirole, and cyclindole. 2. The traditional allometric scaling was attempted using Y = aWb relationship. The corresponding predicted urinary amounts were converted into % recovery by using appropriate human dose. Appropriate statistical tests comprising of fold-difference (predicted/observed values) and error calculations (MAE and RMSE) were performed. 3. The interspecies scaling of all nine drugs tested showed excellent correlation (r > 0.9672). The predictions for eight out of nine drugs (exception was cephaphirin) were contained within 0.80–1.25 fold-differences. The MAE and RMSE were within ± 18% and 14.64%, respectively. 4. The present work supported the potential application of prospective allometry scaling to predict the urinary excretory amounts of the total drug and gauge any issues for the renal handling of the total drug.
Effizienter Regressionstest von E/E-Systemen nach ISO 26262

Selektive Regressionstestmethodiken analysieren auf Basis einer auf eine Systemdarstellung abgebildeten Modifikation, welche Testfalle fur eine systematische Uberprufung der Anderung selbst sowie aller potentiellen durch eine mogliche Fehlwirkung betroffenen Teilbereiche des Systems notwendig sind. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird erstmals eine effiziente und spezifikationsbasierte Regressionstestmethodik nach ISO 26262 fur die E/E-Systemebene entwickelt.
Efficient force calculations based on continuum sensitivity analysis

Using continuum design sensitivity analysis (CDSA), in conjunction with the virtual work principle, equations have been derived for calculating forces without the need to solve the adjoint system. The resultant expressions are similar to the Maxwell stress tensor, but have the important advantage of the integration taking place on the surface of material rather than in the air outside. Implementation of the scheme leads to efficient calculations and improved accuracy.
Early long‐term FEIBA prophylaxis in haemophilia A patients with inhibitor after failing immune tolerance induction: A prospective clinical case series

Summary. Persistent high‐titre inhibitors after immune tolerance induction (ITI) increase the risks of haemorrhage and arthropathy, resulting in high morbidity and mortality. Long‐term prophylaxis with bypassing agents may avert these risks. This study was performed to assess the effectiveness and safety of early prophylaxis with FEIBA in preventing bleeding and joint damage after failed ITI. Seven paediatric patients proceeded immediately after failed ITI to long‐term FEIBA prophylaxis at 60–100 IU kg−1 dosages and various dosing intervals depending upon bleeding tendency. Bleeding episodes and joint status were assessed. Thrombin generation assays (TGA) were also used to gauge treatment response. FEIBA prophylaxis was commenced at a median age of 6.0 years (range, 1.5–11.8 years) and continued for a median duration of 6.9 years (range, 0.8–17.1 years). The mean annual incidence of joint bleeding was 1.5 episodes per year with a 95% CI of 0.7–3.0 episodes per year. Muscle bleeding incidence was 0.9 episodes per year (CI, 0.6–1.2 episodes per year). No patient experienced major joint damage during prophylaxis. Median Pettersson and orthopaedic joint scores at the last follow‐up evaluation were 4 (range, 0–12) and 2 (range, 0–4) respectively. Endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) measured by TGA exceeded 80% of normal after FEIBA infusion in the majority of the patients. Between regular prophylactic infusions, mean trough ETP equalled 2.6 fold of the inhibitor plasma control mean. FEIBA prophylaxis was well‐tolerated without serious thrombotic or other complications. The only adverse event involved venous access. Therefore early long‐term FEIBA prophylaxis is valuable in controlling bleeding and preserving joint integrity in young patients failing ITI.
Metabolic Portraits of Breast Cancer by HR MAS MR Spectroscopy of Intact Tissue Samples

Despite progress in early detection and therapeutic strategies, breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death among women globally. Due to the heterogeneity and complexity of tumor biology, breast cancer patients with similar diagnosis might have different prognosis and response to treatment. Thus, deeper understanding of individual tumor properties is necessary. Cancer cells must be able to convert nutrients to biomass while maintaining energy production, which requires reprogramming of central metabolic processes in the cells. This phenomenon is increasingly recognized as a potential target for treatment, but also as a source for biomarkers that can be used for prognosis, risk stratification and therapy monitoring. Magnetic resonance (MR) metabolomics is a widely used approach in translational research, aiming to identify clinically relevant metabolic biomarkers or generate novel understanding of the molecular biology in tumors. Ex vivo proton high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR MAS) MR spectroscopy is widely used to study central metabolic processes in a non-destructive manner. Here we review the current status for HR MAS MR spectroscopy findings in breast cancer in relation to glucose, amino acid and choline metabolism.
The State and Industrial Development in India: From Small Industry to Special Economic Zones

Beginning in the 1980s, the political economy of India underwent significant transformations : the reform process launched at this time sought to deregulate industrial activities and gradually open them to international trade. While the macroeconomic aspects of these reforms are relatively well-known, this is less true of their sectoral policies. In particular, it is to be underscored that the state is still present in the industrial domain, where major policy matters are at stake, notably the absorption of an unskilled and mainly rural labor force. On the basis of a diachronic analysis, the present article examines recent changes in industrial development policy. I examine the considerations underlying policy orientations as well as the concepts called upon to evaluate the evolution of the Indian state in this sector. The present special economic zone (free zone) policy, for example, reflects the state’s continued desire to support industrial development while at the same time significantly changing its economic logic and the modes of assistance it provides. ■
Stability of reference genes for normalization of reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) data in bovine blastocysts produced by IVF, ICSI and SCNT

Summary Reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a sensitive and accurate tool for quantitative estimation of gene transcription levels in preimplantation embryos. To control for possible experimental variations, gene expression data must be normalized using internal control genes commonly known as reference genes. However, the stability of reference genes can vary depending on the state of development and/or experimental conditions; hence the assessment of their stability is essential before initiating a gene expression analysis. In the present study, we used RT-qPCR to measure the transcript levels of 10 commonly used reference genes and analyzed their expression stability in bovine blastocysts produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Using the geNorm program, we found the best combination of genes to normalize gene expression data in bovine embryos at the blastocyst stage produced by IVF (HMBS, SF3A1, and HPRT1), ICSI (H2A, HMBS, and GAPDH), SCNT (ACTB, SF3A1, and SDHA) and/or between blastocysts produced by these methods (GAPDH, HMBS and EEF1A2). We also demonstrated that not only the culture conditions may affect the expression patterns in bovine blastocysts but also the choice of embryo production method may have an important effect.
Planar‐Processed Polymer Transistors

Planar-processed polymer transistors are proposed where the effective charge injection and the split unipolar charge transport are all on the top surface of the polymer film, showing ideal device characteristics with unparalleled performance. This technique provides a great solution to the problem of fabrication limitations, the ambiguous operating principle, and the performance improvements in practical applications of conjugated-polymer transistors.
Pentoxifylline inhibits HIV-1 LTR-driven gene expression by blocking NF-kappa B action.

The drug pentoxifylline (PTX) (1-(5'-oxohexyl) 3,7-dimethylxanthine) down-regulates human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) long terminal repeat (LTR)-directed gene expression in the human monocytic cell line U38. This effect of PTX has been tested in clinical trials. In this investigation, a similar inhibitory effect of PTX on HIV-1 LTR-driven gene expression was observed (a) in a stable transfectant of the human embryo kidney cell line 293-27-2 carrying an expression plasmid construct with the HIV-1 LTR fused to the bacterial lac Z gene, and also (b) by transient transfection of human embryo kidney cells 293 S with fusion plasmid constructs with wild-type [pHIV-LTR-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT)] or mutated (pHIV-LTR-mut-CAT) nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) motifs. In both stable and transient transfection studies, 4-beta-phorbol-12-beta-myristate-acetate (PMA)-induced or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-induced activation of the HIV-1 LTR was correlated with a concomitant elevated level of NF-kappa B interaction with its motifs. The inducibility of HIV-1 LTR-driven gene expression by PMA or TNF-alpha in transiently transfected cells was completely eliminated by point mutations in the NF-kappa B motifs, suggesting that NF-kappa B plays a major role in the activation of the HIV-1 LTR by these agents in this cell system. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Translating research into practice: the future ahead.

OBJECTIVE To summarize and analyze the focus and methodologies of the Translating Research into Practice (TRIP) projects funded in 1999-2000 by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). DATA SOURCES AND STUDY DESIGN An analysis of the successful applications for the TRIP I and II requests for applications in 1999 and 2000 was produced from the data collected. DATA COLLECTION The following items were abstracted from each of the successful applications: provider focus, patient population, vulnerable populations, methodologies, interventions for change, outcomes measured, and conceptual framework used. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS AHRQ funded 27 TRIP grants in 1999 and 2000. A wide variety of health care providers, settings, and patients were the target of the grants. The most common study design was a randomized controlled trial. The most common TRIP interventions were educational and the most common frameworks were either adult learning theory or organizational theory. More than half of the projects planned to use information technology and half the projects had a focus on reducing errors. CONCLUSIONS The TRIP projects encompass a broad range of providers, environments, patients, and interventions. The field of applied research and quality improvements should be considerably enhanced by these research projects.
The Portfolio Rebalancing Channel of Quantitative Easing

This paper analyzes the portfolio rebalancing channel of Quantitative Easing (QE hereafter) interventions. First, we identify the effects of a QE shock using a Bayesian VAR on US data using a sign and zero restrictions identification scheme. We find that QE shocks have substantial effects on corporate spreads with different ratings, supportive of a portfolio rebalancing channel. Second, we build a DSGE model with a securitzation mechanism. We confront the resulting impulse response functions to those uncovered by our VAR analysis, and find a fairly good match. Finally, we show that the portfolio rebalancing channel crucially affects the transmission of QE shocks to real economy.