Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
De l’utilisation de descripteurs issus de la linguistique computationnelle dans le cadre de la synthèse par HMM (Toward the use of information density based descriptive features in HMM based speech synthesis)[In French]

RÉSUMÉ Durant les dernières décennies, la modélisation acoustique effectuée par les systèmes de synthèse de parole paramétrique a fait l’objet d’une attention particulière. Toutefois, dans la plupart des systèmes connus, l’ensemble des descripteurs linguistiques utilisés pour représenter le texte reste identique. Plus specifiquement, la modélisation de la prosodie reste guidée par des descripteurs de bas niveau comme l’information d’accentuation de la syllabe ou bien l’étiquette grammaticale du mot. Dans cet article, nous proposons d’intégrer des informations basées sur la prédictibilité d’un évènement (la syllabe ou le mot). Plusieurs études indiquent une corrélation forte entre cette mesure, fortement présente dans la linguistique computationnelle, et certaines spécificités lors de la production humaine de la parole. Notre hypothèse est donc que l’ajout de ces descripteurs améliore la modélisation de la prosodie. Cet article se focalise sur une analyse objective de l’apport de ces descripteurs sur la synthèse HMM pour la langue anglaise et française.
Security Aware and Energy-Efficient Virtual Machine Consolidation in Cloud Computing Systems

The increasing number of data centers is consuming significant power with an upward surge. Hence, to preserve such huge energy and operating cost of data centers, the cloud service providers consolidate Virtual Machines (VM) to minimize the number of active physical machines. However, lack of reliable security measurements and policy enforcement during the consolidation process, have increased the security risks to the clients. In this paper, the compartment isolation technique is introduced to improve the system security during the consolidation process. The security-based selection and placement algorithms are also presented. The comparative analysis of this improved security approach shows that utilizing the proposed method will reduce the security risks without impacting the overall power consumption in data centers.
Modulation of neonatal immunological tolerance to ovalbumin by maternal essential fatty acid intake

The present study examines whether dietary essential fatty acid (EFA) intake influences the induction of oral tolerance to ovalbumin (OA) in neonatal and adult rats. During late gestation and throughout lactation Sprague–Dawley rats were fed a diet supplemented (S) with EFA (7% soybean oil), or a diet deficient (D) in EFA (7% hydrogenated lard). The rat offspring were subsequently exposed to OA either via the milk at 10–16 days (neonatal rats), or as adults via the drinking water at 7–9 wk of age. Oral administration of OA to the adult rats lead to suppression of the delayed‐type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactivity and IgG antibody response against OA, which was not influenced by their diets. In the offspring of the dams fed the D diet antigen exposure via the milk resulted in suppression of the serum antibody levels and DTH reaction against OA indicating induction of oral tolerance. Higher transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β) mRNA levels in the draining lymph nodes suggested this to be mediated by regulatory T cells. In contrast, OA exposure of the dams fed the S diet did not result in a suppressed OA response of their offspring. Thus, the quality of FA ingested by the mother may have effects on the development of immunological tolerance to dietary antigens in the offspring. Our results might have importance for the understanding of the increase in allergy related to the Western type of diet.
Significant Reduction of Late Toxicities in Patients With Extremity Sarcoma Treated With Image-Guided Radiation Therapy to a Reduced Target Volume: Results of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group RTOG-0630 Trial.

PURPOSE We performed a multi-institutional prospective phase II trial to assess late toxicities in patients with extremity soft tissue sarcoma (STS) treated with preoperative image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) to a reduced target volume. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with extremity STS received IGRT with (cohort A) or without (cohort B) chemotherapy followed by limb-sparing resection. Daily pretreatment images were coregistered with digitally reconstructed radiographs so that the patient position could be adjusted before each treatment. All patients received IGRT to reduced tumor volumes according to strict protocol guidelines. Late toxicities were assessed at 2 years. RESULTS In all, 98 patients were accrued (cohort A, 12; cohort B, 86). Cohort A was closed prematurely because of poor accrual and is not reported. Seventy-nine eligible patients from cohort B form the basis of this report. At a median follow-up of 3.6 years, five patients did not have surgery because of disease progression. There were five local treatment failures, all of which were in field. Of the 57 patients assessed for late toxicities at 2 years, 10.5% experienced at least one grade ≥ 2 toxicity as compared with 37% of patients in the National Cancer Institute of Canada SR2 (CAN-NCIC-SR2: Phase III Randomized Study of Pre- vs Postoperative Radiotherapy in Curable Extremity Soft Tissue Sarcoma) trial receiving preoperative radiation therapy without IGRT (P < .001). CONCLUSION The significant reduction of late toxicities in patients with extremity STS who were treated with preoperative IGRT and absence of marginal-field recurrences suggest that the target volumes used in the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group RTOG-0630 (A Phase II Trial of Image-Guided Preoperative Radiotherapy for Primary Soft Tissue Sarcomas of the Extremity) study are appropriate for preoperative IGRT for extremity STS.
Situational and Psychosocial Factors Mediating Coordinated Joint Attention with Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems with Beginning Communicators without Disabilities

This study examined how infants' age, joint attention (JA) skills, caregiver ratings of language and temperament, and caregiver JA style related to JA in a structured literacy task with an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system. Sixteen infants (mean = 10.6 months) without disabilities participated in two storybook reading interactions with anexperimenter in two conditions where the AAC system was either aligned or divided from the experimenter's eye gaze. Individual differences in JA skills, caregiver JA style, and temperament were associated with coordinated JA across both conditions. The findings suggest it is important to examine both extrinsic and intrinsic factors, which may not only reduce attention demands but also mediate the success of JA interactions with AAC systems.
A new beginning for human health

The author relates his introduction to the role of biomedical engineering in human health. The influences of renowned figures on his understanding of the concepts of peace and mutual human respect are also mentioned. Several technological innovations that have produced a great impact on the lifestyle and philosophical attitudes of mankind are cited. Finally, the author mentions the unresolved problems of society, including human poverty in both developing and industrialized countries, and its implications for human health.
DC11: a novel monoclonal antibody revealing Alzheimer's disease-specific tau epitope

Using tau protein extracts from Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain tissue, we generated a monoclonal antibody (mAb DC11) which decorated neurofibrillary pathology in brain derived from AD patients on immunohistochemistry, and which lacked reactivity with healthy brain tissue. The same pattern of DC11 specificity was observed on Western blot. The main constituent of structures decorated by DC11 is microtubule-associated protein tau. In Western blot, DC11 recognized neither native healthy tau nor its full length recombinant counterpart. However, the mAb showed strong immunoreactivity with truncated tau (residues &tgr;151–421), thus indicating the requirement for a conformational epitope. Importantly, the DC11 epitope was phosphorylation independent. The immunochemical parameters of mAb show that DC11 could represent a novel structural probe with the specificity for conformation of pathological tau present in AD brains.
Control method of wireless power transfer system for allowing coil position deviation

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new control method of wireless power transfer system that can maintain stable power supply even when the positions of the primary and secondary coil or distance between the two coils largely change. The new method will be done by adjusting the switching frequency to a frequency that can obtain the desired output. We confirmed the effectiveness of new wireless power supply control method through experimental result which show that the maximum horizontal position deviation that can obtain a 20W output is 2.8 times longer.
Body size determination in insects: a review and synthesis of size‐ and brain‐dependent and independent mechanisms

Body size determination requires a mechanism for sensing size and a mechanism for linking size information to the termination of growth. Although the hormonal mechanisms that terminate growth are well elucidated, the mechanisms by which a body senses its own size are only partially understood; most of this understanding has come from the study of the mechanisms that control insect moulting and metamorphosis. We first review and discuss advances in our understanding of the physiological mechanisms by which insect larvae sense their size. Second, we present new findings on how larvae in which the size‐sensing mechanism has been disrupted eventually terminate growth (in a size‐independent manner). We synthesize recent insights into the genetic and molecular mechanisms of ecdysteroid regulation in Drosophila melanogaster with developmental physiology findings in Manduca sexta, paving the way for an integrated understanding of the mechanisms of body size regulation.
Relative Ammonia Concentrations, Dust Concentrations, and Presence of Salmonella Species and Escherichia coli Inside and Outside Commercial Layer Facilities

Abstract Three air contaminants that may have serious health consequences to humans and poultry are ammonia, dust, and aerosolized bacteria. This study measured ammonia concentrations, dust concentrations, and the presence or absence of aerosolized Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli inside and outside five commercial layer facilities. The average outside ammonia concentration measurements decreased as the distance from the facility increased from 10 to 40 ft. The measurements at 10 ft from the facilities were consistently higher than the average concentrations inside the facilities. The ammonia measurement trends inside of the facilities were affected by the temperature-dependent ventilation systems. Average dust concentrations inside the five facilities were consistently below 2 mg/m3. Three facilities also experienced average outside dust concentrations at all measured distances below 2 mg/m3. Two facilities had relatively high average dust measurements at 10 ft from ventilation fans (32.12 mg/m3 and 75.18 mg/m3). Escherichia coli and Salmonella were isolated from the air inside all five facilities and outside the facilities up to 40 ft from the ventilation fans. In conclusion, dust concentrations may pose the largest risk to human and animal health at 10 ft away from the poultry facilities; risks associated with ammonia inhalation are greatest inside facilities during the coolest months of the year; and aerosolized bacteria are found inside and outside poultry facilities, but further work is needed to quantify the bacteria to further assess the health risk related to this issue.
Presence within Virtual Environments as a Function of Visual Display Parameters

This paper reports the results of three studies, each of which investigated the sense of presence within virtual environments as a function of visual display parameters. These factors included the presence or absence of head tracking, the presence or absence of stereoscopic cues, and the geometric field of view used to create the visual image projected on the visual display. In each study, subjects navigated a virtual environment and completed a questionnaire designed to ascertain the level of presence experienced by the participant within the virtual world. Specifically, two aspects of presence were evaluated: (1) the sense of being there and (2) the fidelity of the interaction between the virtual environment participant and the virtual world. Not surprisingly, the results of the first and second study indicated that the reported level of presence was significantly higher when head tracking and stereoscopic cues were provided. The results from the third study showed that the geometric field of view used to design the visual display highly influenced the reported level of presence, with more presence associated with a 50 and 90° geometric field of view when compared to a narrower 10° geometric field of view. The results also indicated a significant positive correlation between the reported level of presence and the fidelity of the interaction between the virtual environment participant and the virtual world. Finally, it was shown that the survey questions evaluating several aspects of presence produced reliable responses across questions and studies, indicating that the questionnaire is a useful tool when evaluating presence in virtual environments.
Expressed sequence tags from feline uterine library

Partial nucleotide sequences of 634 cDNAs randomly isolated from a feline uterine cDNA library (Stratagene) were determined by single pass sequencing. Homology search of the sequences to the non-redundant nucleotide databases revealed that 83% of the cDNAs matched registered feline or non-feline genes. Based on the gene identifications, these genes were predicted to be related with immunological, biochemical and regulatory functions in cats. Interestingly, the rest 17% of the cDNAs did not show homology to gene or EST sequence present in the nucleotide and protein databases, suggesting that these cDNAs include novel genes expressed only in the Felidae. This large scale sequencing of uterine cDNA will provide a useful molecular source for research not only towards health and disease conditions in cats but also in different fields of science where genetic information from cats will be of interest.
New Software for the Fast Estimation of Population Recombination Rates (FastEPRR) in the Genomic Era

Genetic recombination is a very important evolutionary mechanism that mixes parental haplotypes and produces new raw material for organismal evolution. As a result, information on recombination rates is critical for biological research. In this paper, we introduce a new extremely fast open-source software package (FastEPRR) that uses machine learning to estimate recombination rate ρ (=4Ner) from intraspecific DNA polymorphism data. When ρ>10 and the number of sampled diploid individuals is large enough (≥50), the variance of ρFastEPRR remains slightly smaller than that of ρLDhat. The new estimate ρcomb (calculated by averaging ρFastEPRR and ρLDhat) has the smallest variance of all cases. When estimating ρFastEPRR, the finite-site model was employed to analyze cases with a high rate of recurrent mutations, and an additional method is proposed to consider the effect of variable recombination rates within windows. Simulations encompassing a wide range of parameters demonstrate that different evolutionary factors, such as demography and selection, may not increase the false positive rate of recombination hotspots. Overall, accuracy of FastEPRR is similar to the well-known method, LDhat, but requires far less computation time. Genetic maps for each human population (YRI, CEU, and CHB) extracted from the 1000 Genomes OMNI data set were obtained in less than 3 d using just a single CPU core. The Pearson Pairwise correlation coefficient between the ρFastEPRR and ρLDhat maps is very high, ranging between 0.929 and 0.987 at a 5-Mb scale. Considering that sample sizes for these kinds of data are increasing dramatically with advances in next-generation sequencing technologies, FastEPRR (freely available at http://www.picb.ac.cn/evolgen/) is expected to become a widely used tool for establishing genetic maps and studying recombination hotspots in the population genomic era.
A Markovian approach for urban change detection in multitemporal complex SAR images

In this paper a new technique for change detection in urban areas using SAR data is proposed. Starting from two datasets, the pre event and the post event ones, the technique first computes the relative spatial correlation maps and then compares the similarity between them using a statistical test. The hypothesis is that, if a change occurs between the pre and the post event acquisition, the statistical distribution of the spatial correlation maps changes. The evaluation of the distance between the statistical distribution of the two maps provides an index of changes. The computation of the spatial correlation is carried out using statistical estimation techniques, while the similarity comparison is based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The algorithm is tested on real COSMO SkyMed data acquired on the area of Naples, showing interesting and promising results.
Glucagon-like peptide 2 improves nutrient absorption and nutritional status in short-bowel patients with no colon.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) is intestinotrophic, antisecretory, and transit-modulating in rodents, and it is mainly secreted from the intestinal mucosa of the terminal ileum and colon after food ingestion. We assessed the effect of GLP-2 on the gastrointestinal function in patients without a terminal ileum and colon who have functional short-bowel syndrome with severe malabsorption of wet weight (>1.5 kg/day) and energy (>2.3 MJ/day) and no postprandial secretion of GLP-2. METHODS Balance studies were performed before and after treatment with GLP-2, 400 microg subcutaneously twice a day for 35 days, in 8 patients (4-17 years from last bowel resection; 6 with Crohn's disease). Four patients received home parenteral nutrition (mean residual jejunum, 83 cm), and 4 did not (mean ileum resection, 106 cm). Biopsy specimens were taken from jejunal/ileal stomas, transit was measured by scintigraphy, and body composition was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS Treatment with GLP-2 improved the intestinal absorption of energy 3.5% +/- 4.0% (mean +/- SD) from 49.9% to 53.4% (P = 0.04), wet weight 11% +/- 12% from 25% to 36% (P = 0.04), and nitrogen 4.7% +/- 5.4% from 47.4% to 52.1% (P = 0.04). Body weight increased 1.2 +/- 1.0 kg (P = 0.01), lean body mass increased 2.9 +/- 1.9 kg (P = 0.004), fat mass decreased 1.8 +/- 1.3 kg (P = 0.007), and 24-hour urine creatinine excretion increased (P = 0.02). The time to 50% gastric emptying of solids increased 30 +/- 16 minutes from 89 to 119 minutes (P < 0.05). Small bowel transit time was not changed. Crypt depth and villus height were increased in 5 and 6 patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with GLP-2 improves intestinal absorption and nutritional status in short-bowel patients with impaired postprandial GLP-2 secretion in whom the terminal ileum and the colon have been resected.
Improved approach to extract maximum power from a small-scale fixed PV system

It is obvious that irradiation level and cell temperature are mainly influential on I-V characteristic of a PV module. A change in optimal operation point of voltage affects maximum electricity generation transferred to a load. Therefore, it is necessary to use a dc-dc converter to adjust PV output voltage to optimal point of it under constant load conditions. To do that I-V curve of the PV module should first be obtained at given insolation rate and temperature and the dc-dc converter is used to set the voltage to optimal point. In this study, at certain ranges of irradiation level and temperature the I-V curve was obtained through parameter extraction from the single diode model using the genetic algorithm. The duty ratio of the dc-dc converter is optimized until the input resistance of the converter equals the optimal resistance under varying irradiation level and temperature. The results are meaningful and encouraging compared to those of similar works.
Rift Valley Fever Vaccine Development, Progress and Constraints

The workshop Rift Valley Fever Vaccine Development, Progress and Constraints was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen University and Research Centre, under the umbrella of the Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases, a joint initiative of FAO and the World Organisation for Animal Health. The workshop was supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, and by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; other participants included the World Health Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The meeting occurred January 19–21, 2011, at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, and was attended by 34 leading scientists in Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) vaccine development, representatives of international organizations, and policy makers. Stakeholders from industry were represented by the International Federation for Animal Health. The main objective of the meeting was to gain consensus about desired characteristics of novel veterinary RVFV vaccines and to discuss how incentives can be established to ensure that these vaccines come to market.
Does Investment in Project Management Pay Off?

Purpose – There is a significant knowledge gap in the common understanding regarding the value that investment leading to an increase in project management maturity brings to the organisation. The purpose of this paper is to narrow this gap by investigating the relationship between an increase in the project management maturity level and the project's performance. Additionally, it advocates the investment roadmap approach. Design/methodology/approach – This study is part of a worldwide research initiative into maturity in project management covering 447 global companies. For this purpose, survey data from experts from 194 select companies was analysed. Findings – The cost of forthcoming projects depends on the level of maturity of project management and type of industry. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to three different industries (machinery, construction and information technology) and by the method of assessing their future project costs. New research directions are suggested.
Cholesterol metabolism and its implications for therapeutic interventions in patients with hypercholesterolaemia

Cardiovascular diseases are the principal causes of mortality in middle‐aged people and in older people. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common of the cardiovascular diseases; high serum levels of cholesterol are associated with atherosclerosis and an increased risk of CHD. Cholesterol homeostasis is achieved by means of a fine balance between cholesterol intake, absorption/excretion and synthesis. All of these processes are tightly linked and a change in one of them can significantly influence the others. Results from both experimental studies and clinical trials have shown that inhibition of cholesterol synthesis with a statin increases absorption and that conversely, inhibition of cholesterol absorption increases synthesis. The tight linkage of cholesterol absorption and synthesis in maintaining cholesterol homeostasis suggests that treatment with an agent that influences only one of these two processes is likely to have distinct limits with respect to its effects on cholesterol levels. Better understanding of cholesterol homeostasis, particularly the close interrelationship between cholesterol synthesis and absorption, may result in the design of rational integrated treatment regimens that employ multiple agents with complementary actions that attack multiple mechanisms to lower cholesterol.