julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Roles of the average voice in speaker-adaptive HMM-based speech synthesis
2010-09-26

In speaker-adaptive HMM-based speech synthesis, there are typically a few speakers for which the output synthetic speech sounds worse than that of other speakers, despite having the same amount of adaptation data from within the same corpus.This paper investigates these fluctuations in quality and concludes that as mel-cepstral distance from the average voice becomes larger, the MOS naturalness scores generally become worse.Although this negative correlation is not that strong, it suggests a way to improve the training and adaptation strategies.We also draw comparisons between our findings and the work of other researchers regarding "vocal attractiveness.
Transesophageal NOTES – a critical analysis of relevant problems
2010-09-26

The transesophageal access route has not become a principal topic in the discussion about NOTES up to now. Analyzing the problems in this new field of surgery, however, the transesophageal route shows high relevance. Here, all possibilities, limitations, and problems of NOTES become obvious. This paper contains a critical analysis of the literature published to date (nine full papers, five abstracts). Nearly all publications represent experimental studies in living pigs. In most cases a submucosal tunnel technique is performed as access route to mediastinum, pleural cavity, and heart. Interventions and operations include simple mediastinoscopies as well as epicardial operations after exposition of the heart. For access and manipulation, conventional flexible endoscopes and instruments are used. Clips, T-bars, or a combination of both achieve the closure. Some studies rely on spontaneous closure of the incision without any suturing or approximation. In such experimental settings, the following results are presented: Access is achieved in 90% of cases, the aim of the operation is met in 92%, technical success in closure is achieved in 90%, healing of incision assessed as good in two of five studies, satisfactory in three of five studies. Mortality, ranging from 6 to 25%, and complication rates were (surprisingly) high. It has to be stressed that analyzing these papers published to date, no adequate attention is paid to basic facts and problems of general and thoracic surgery (e.g. different forms, prevention, diagnosis and therapy of pneumothorax or differentiated forms of ventilation). Relevant differences in the anatomy and physiology of the esophagus and mediastinum between humans and pigs should additionally be taken into account to choose optimal experimental parameters when transferring results to human settings. Moreover, requirements regarding sterility and hygiene in a structure like the mediastinum, which is at high risk from the point of view of infection biology, have not yet been respected. These factors should be taken into account in further studies--as well as clinically relevant disease patterns in humans--to be able to realize possible advantages of this NOTES access in a clinical setting.
Genetic and morphologic features for melanoma classification
2010-09-27

Summary Melanoma is comprised of biologically distinct subtypes. The defining clinical, histomorphologic, and molecular features are not fully established. This study sought to validate the association between genetic and histomorphologic features previously described and to determine their reproducibility and association with important clinical variables. Detailed clinical and histomorphologic features of 365 primary cutaneous melanomas were assessed by 11 pathologists and correlated with mutation status of BRAF and NRAS . There was substantial agreement in the quantitative assessment of histomorphologic features showing similar or better interobserver reproducibility than the established World Health Organization classification scheme. We confirmed that melanomas with BRAF mutations showed characteristic morphologic features (P &lt; 0.0001) and metastasized more frequently to regional lymph nodes (P = 0.046). Importantly, melanomas without mutations were a heterogeneous group, with a subset having very similar clinical and morphological features as those with BRAF mutation raising the possibility that they are biologically related. Our study confirms an association between histomorphologic features, mutation status, and pattern of metastasis, providing criteria for a refined melanoma classification aimed at defining biologically homogeneous disease subgroups.
Experience report
2010-09-27

A student learning how to program learns best when the programming language and programming environment cater to her specific needs. These needs are different from the requirements of a professional programmer. Consequently, the design of teaching languages poses challenges different from the design of professional languages. Using a functional language by itself gives advantages over more popular, professional languages, but fully exploiting these advantages requires careful adaptation to the needs of the students' as-is, these languages do not support the students nearly as well as they could. This paper describes our experience adopting the didactic approach of How to Design Programs, focussing on the design process for our own set of teaching languages. We have observed students as they try to program as part of our introductory course, and used these observations to significantly improve the design of these languages. This paper describes the changes we have made, and the journey we took to get there.
Interventions for bullous pemphigoid
2010-09-28

Very potent topical steroids are effective and safe treatments for BP, but their use in extensive disease may be limited by side-effects and practical factors. Milder regimens (using lower doses of steroids) are safe and effective in moderate BP. Starting doses of prednisolone greater than 0.75 mg/kg/day do not give additional benefit, lower doses may be adequate to control disease and reduce the incidence and severity of adverse reactions. The effectiveness of adding plasma exchange, azathioprine or mycophenolate mofetil to corticosteroids, and combination treatment with tetracycline and nicotinamide needs further investigation.
A QUICK Screen for Lrrk2 Interaction Partners – Leucine-rich Repeat Kinase 2 is Involved in Actin Cytoskeleton Dynamics
2010-09-28

Mutations in human leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (Lrrk2), a protein of yet unknown function, are linked to Parkinson's disease caused by degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. The protein comprises several domains including a GTPase and a kinase domain both affected by several pathogenic mutations. To elucidate the molecular interaction network of endogenous Lrrk2 under stoichiometric constraints, we applied QUICK (quantitative immunoprecipitation combined with knockdown) in NIH3T3 cells. The identified interactome reveals actin isoforms as well as actin-associated proteins involved in actin filament assembly, organization, rearrangement, and maintenance, suggesting that the biological function of Lrrk2 is linked to cytoskeletal dynamics. In fact, we demonstrate Lrrk2 de novo binding to F-actin and its ability to modulate its assembly in vitro. When tested in intact cells, knockdown of Lrrk2 causes morphological alterations in NIH3T3 cells. In developing dopaminergic midbrain primary neurons, Lrrk2 knockdown results in shortened neurite processes, indicating a physiological role of Lrrk2 in cytoskeletal organization and dynamics of dopaminergic neurons. Hence, our results demonstrate that molecular interactions as well as the physiological function of Lrrk2 are closely related to the organization of the actin-based cytoskeleton, a crucial feature of neuronal development and neuron function.
Structure of an Ebf1:DNA complex reveals unusual DNA recognition and structural homology with Rel proteins
2010-09-28

Early B-cell factor 1 (Ebf1) is a key transcriptional determinant of B-lymphocyte differentiation whose DNA-binding domain has no sequence similarity to other transcription factor families. Here we report the crystal structure of an Ebf1 dimer bound to its palindromic recognition site. The DNA-binding domain adopts a pseudoimmunoglobulin-like fold with novel topology, but is structurally similar to the Rel homology domains of NFAT and NF-κB. Ebf1 contacts the DNA with two loop-based modules and a unique Zn coordination motif whereby each Ebf1 monomer interacts with both palindromic half-sites. This unusual mode of DNA recognition generates an extended contact area that may be crucial for the function of Ebf1 in chromatin.
Cortical Activation during Clock Reading as a Quadratic Function of Dementia State
2010-09-28

In patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), neuroimaging studies have demonstrated decreased brain activation, while increased activation was detected in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It can be hypothesized that increased cerebral activity seen in patients with MCI reflects neural compensation at the beginning of neurodegenerative processes. Later, as patients develop AD, neural integrity is increasingly impaired. This is accompanied by decreased neural activation. In this study we examined cognitive performance and functional magnetic resonance imaging activation on a Clock Reading task (CRT) and a Spatial Control task (SCT) in healthy controls, patients with MCI, and patients with early AD. Correlations between neural-functional activation and cognitive state, measured by the Mini Mental Status Examination, were determined using rank, linear and quadratic correlation models. It could be shown that CRT, in comparison to SCT, specifically activates brain regions in the ventral visual stream and precuneus known to be involved in conceptual processing and spatial imagery. The correlation between brain activity and cognitive state followed a quadratic rather than a linear pattern in several brain regions, including the lingual gyrus, cuneus, and precuneus. The strongest brain activity was found in patients with MCI and less severely impaired early AD subjects. These findings support the hypothesis that patients in early stages of dementia compensate for neuronal loss by the recruitment of additional neural resources reflected by increased neural activation, as measured by the blood oxygen level-dependent signal.
Homoleptic Rare-Earth Metal Complexes Containing Ln−C σ-Bonds
2010-09-29

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVReviewNEXTHomoleptic Rare-Earth Metal Complexes Containing Ln−C σ-Bonds†Melanie Zimmermann‡ and Reiner Anwander*‡§View Author Information Department of Chemistry, University of Bergen, Allégaten 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway, and Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 18, 72076 Tübingen, Germany* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: (+49) 7071 2972069. Fax: (+49) 7071 292436. E-mail: [email protected]†In memory of Herbert Schumann.‡University of Bergen.§Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen.Cite this: Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 10, 6194–6259Publication Date (Web):September 29, 2010Publication History Received22 April 2010Published online29 September 2010Published inissue 13 October 2010https://doi.org/10.1021/cr1001194Copyright © 2010 American Chemical SocietyRIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views5565Altmetric-Citations243LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit Read OnlinePDF (23 MB) Get e-AlertsSUBJECTS:Alkyls,Chemical structure,Lanthanides,Ligands,Metals Get e-Alerts
Manipulation of Adenosine Kinase Affects Sleep Regulation in Mice
2010-09-29

Sleep and sleep intensity are enhanced by adenosine and its receptor agonists, whereas adenosine receptor antagonists induce wakefulness. Adenosine kinase (ADK) is the primary enzyme metabolizing adenosine in adult brain. To investigate whether adenosine metabolism or clearance affects sleep, we recorded sleep in mice with engineered mutations in Adk. Adk -tg mice overexpress a transgene encoding the cytoplasmic isoform of ADK in the brain but lack the nuclear isoform of the enzyme. Wild-type mice and Adk +/− mice that have a 50% reduction of the cytoplasmic and the nuclear isoforms of ADK served as controls. Adk -tg mice showed a remarkable reduction of EEG power in low frequencies in all vigilance states and in theta activity (6.25–11 Hz) in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and waking. Adk -tg mice were awake 58 min more per day than wild-type mice and spent significantly less time in REM sleep (102 ± 3 vs 128 ± 3 min in wild type). After sleep deprivation, slow-wave activity (0.75–4 Hz), the intensity component of non-rapid eye movement sleep, increased significantly less in Adk -tg mice and their slow-wave energy was reduced. In contrast, the vigilance states and EEG spectra of Adk +/− and wild-type mice did not differ. Our data suggest that overexpression of the cytoplasmic isoform of ADK is sufficient to alter sleep physiology. ADK might orchestrate neurotransmitter pathways involved in the generation of EEG oscillations and regulation of sleep.
The Processing of Events
2010-09-29

Synthesizing ideas from event semantics and psycholinguistics, this monograph provides a new perspective on the processing of linguistic aspect and aspectual coercion. Confronting alternative semantic accounts with experimental evidence, the author develops a comprehensive model of online aspectual interpretation. The first part of the book critically reviews competing theoretical accounts of aspectual coercion. As an analytical tool the author introduces a computational model based on the event calculus by Hamm &amp; van Lambalgen (2005) which makes use of planning formalisms from artificial intelligence. Detailed predictions from this framework are then tested in the experimental work reported in the second part. The focus here is on such questions as: Is aspectual coercion a uniform phenomenon or must we distinguish different types? Is aspect processed incrementally or is it computed only at the clause boundary? And finally, what insights can event related potentials yield about how the brain resolves local aspectual mismatch?
IQCB1Mutations in Patients with Leber Congenital Amaurosis
2010-09-30

Results show that the onset of renal failure in patients with IQCB1 mutations is highly variable, and that mutations are also found in LCA patients without nephronophthisis, rendering IQCB1 a new gene for LCA. However, these patients are at high risk for developing renal failure, which in early stages is often not recognized and can cause sudden death from fluid and electrolyte imbalance. It is therefore recommended that all LCA patients be screened for IQCB1 mutations, to follow them more closely for kidney disease.
Structure of the Extracellular Portion of CD46 Provides Insights into Its Interactions with Complement Proteins and Pathogens
2010-09-30

The human membrane cofactor protein (MCP, CD46) is a central component of the innate immune system. CD46 protects autologous cells from complement attack by binding to complement proteins C3b and C4b and serving as a cofactor for their cleavage. Recent data show that CD46 also plays a role in mediating acquired immune responses, and in triggering autophagy. In addition to these physiologic functions, a significant number of pathogens, including select adenoviruses, measles virus, human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6), Streptococci, and Neisseria, use CD46 as a cell attachment receptor. We have determined the crystal structure of the extracellular region of CD46 in complex with the human adenovirus type 11 fiber knob. Extracellular CD46 comprises four short consensus repeats (SCR1-SCR4) that form an elongated structure resembling a hockey stick, with a long shaft and a short blade. Domains SCR1, SCR2 and SCR3 are arranged in a nearly linear fashion. Unexpectedly, however, the structure reveals a profound bend between domains SCR3 and SCR4, which has implications for the interactions with ligands as well as the orientation of the protein at the cell surface. This bend can be attributed to an insertion of five hydrophobic residues in a SCR3 surface loop. Residues in this loop have been implicated in interactions with complement, indicating that the bend participates in binding to C3b and C4b. The structure provides an accurate framework for mapping all known ligand binding sites onto the surface of CD46, thereby advancing an understanding of how CD46 acts as a receptor for pathogens and physiologic ligands of the immune system.
Knockout of the plastid RNase E leads to defective RNA processing and chloroplast ribosome deficiency
2010-09-30

Ribonuclease E (RNase E) represents a key enzyme in bacterial RNA metabolism. It plays multifarious roles in RNA processing and also initiates degradation of mRNA by endonucleolytic cleavage. Plastids (chloroplasts) are derived from formerly free-living bacteria and have largely retained eubacterial gene expression mechanisms. Here we report the functional characterization of a chloroplast RNase E that is encoded by a single-copy nuclear gene in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Analysis of knockout plants revealed that, unlike in bacteria, RNase E is not essential for survival. Absence of RNase E results in multiple defects in chloroplast RNA metabolism. Most importantly, polycistronic precursor transcripts overaccumulate in the knockout plants, while several mature monocistronic mRNAs are strongly reduced, suggesting an important function of RNase E in intercistronic processing of primary transcripts from chloroplast operons. We further show that disturbed maturation of a transcript encoding essential ribosomal proteins results in plastid ribosome deficiency and, therefore, provides a molecular explanation for the observed mutant phenotype.
Microsurgical Anatomy of the Orbit: The Rule of Seven
2010-09-30

The orbits are paired structures, located on the anterior part of the face. Morphologically, each orbit is a four sided pyramid with a posterior apex and anterior base. In the orbit, all openings are arranged around the base, apex or between the orbital walls. An anatomical characteristic of the orbit is that structures are arranged in groups of seven: there are seven bones, seven intraorbital muscles and seven nerves in the orbit. Tumors confined within the periorbita in the anterior two thirds of the orbit can often be approached extracranially, but those located in the apical area, and especially those on the medial side of the optic nerve, often require a transcranial approach. Thus, knowledge of orbital osteology is paramount in adequately choosing and performing an orbital approach. Understanding the critical topographical elements in this area helps to classify an orbital lesion and provides for a solid basis in choosing the most adequate intraorbital route for its treatment.
Temporal attention shortens perceptual latency: A temporal prior entry effect
2010-09-30

Abstract The prior entry hypothesis of attention holds that attended stimuli are perceived earlier than unattended stimuli. Whereas this speeding of perceptual processing has been repeatedly demonstrated for spatial attention, it has not been reported within the temporal domain. To fill this gap, we tested whether temporal attention accelerates auditory perceptual processing by employing event‐related potentials as on‐line indicators of perceptual processing. In a modified oddball paradigm, we presented a single tone in each trial, either a frequent standard tone or an infrequent deviant or target tone. Temporal attention to tones was manipulated via constant foreperiods. We observed that the latency of the N2, an event‐related potential reflecting perceptual processing, is shortened by temporal attention. This result provides first evidence for the idea that temporal attention accelerates perceptual processing as suggested by the prior entry hypothesis.
The geothermal potential of urban heat islands
2010-10-01

The urban heat island effect and climate change have not only caused surface temperature increase in most urban areas, but during the last hundred years also enhanced the subsurface temperature by several degrees. This phenomenon yields aquifers with elevated temperature, which are attractive though underestimated thermal energy reservoirs. Detailed groundwater temperature measurements in Cologne (Germany) and Winnipeg (Canada) reveal high subsurface temperature distributions in the centers of both cities and indicate a warming trend of up to 5 °C. The case-specific potential heat content in urban aquifers and available capacities for space heating are quantified. The results show, for example, that, by decreasing the 20 m thick urban aquifer's temperature by 2 °C, the amount of extractable geothermal energy beneath Cologne is 2.5 times the residential heating demand of the whole city. The geothermal potential in other cities such as Shanghai and Tokyo is shown to supply heating demand even for decades.
Two planets orbiting the recently formed post-common envelope binary NN Serpentis
2010-10-01

Planets orbiting post-common envelope binaries provide fundamental information on planet formation and evolution.We searched for\\nsuch planets in NNSer ab, an eclipsing short-period binary that shows long-term eclipse time variations. Using published, reanalysed,\\nand new mid-eclipse times of NNSer ab obtained between 1988 and 2010, we find excellent agreement with the light-travel-time\\neffect produced by two additional bodies superposed on the linear ephemeris of the binary. Our multi-parameter fits accompanied by\\nN-body simulations yield a best fit for the objects NNSer (ab)c and d locked in the 2:1 mean motion resonance, with orbital periods\\nPc 15.5 yrs and Pd 7.7 yrs, masses Mc sin ic 6.9 MJup and Md sin id 2.2 MJup, and eccentricities ec 0 and ed 0.20.\\nA secondary χ2 minimum corresponds to an alternative solution with a period ratio of 5:2. We estimate that the progenitor binary\\nconsisted of an A star with ∼2 M and the present M dwarf secondary at an orbital separation of ∼1.5 AU. The survival of two planets\\nthrough the common-envelope phase that created the present white dwarf requires fine tuning between the gravitational force and\\nthe drag force experienced by them in the expanding envelope. The alternative is a second-generation origin in a circumbinary disk\\ncreated at the end of this phase. In that case, the planets would be extremely young with ages not exceeding the cooling age of the\\nwhite dwarf of 106 yrs.