Mandarin Singing Voice Synthesis Based on Harmonic Plus Noise Model and Singing Expression Analysis

The purpose of this study is to investigate how humans interpret musical scores expressively, and then design machines that sing like humans. We consider six factors that have a strong influence on the expression of human singing. The factors are related to the acoustic, phonetic, and musical features of a real singing signal. Given real singing voices recorded following the MIDI scores and lyrics, our analysis module can extract the expression parameters from the real singing signals semi-automatically. The expression parameters are used to control the singing voice synthesis (SVS) system for Mandarin Chinese, which is based on the harmonic plus noise model (HNM). The results of perceptual experiments show that integrating the expression factors into the SVS system yields a notable improvement in perceptual naturalness, clearness, and expressiveness. By one-to-one mapping of the real singing signal and expression controls to the synthesizer, our SVS system can simulate the interpretation of a real singer with the timbre of a speaker.Comment: 8 pages, technical repor

Src-homology 2 domain-containing tyrosine phosphatase 2 promotes oral cancer invasion and metastasis

BACKGROUND: Tumor invasion and metastasis represent a major unsolved problem in cancer pathogenesis. Recent studies have indicated the involvement of Src-homology 2 domain-containing tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP2) in multiple malignancies; however, the role of SHP2 in oral cancer progression has yet to be elucidated. We propose that SHP2 is involved in the progression of oral cancer toward metastasis. METHODS: SHP2 expression was evaluated in paired oral cancer tissues by using immunohistochemical staining and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Isogenic highly invasive oral cancer cell lines from their respective low invasive parental lines were established using a Boyden chamber assay, and changes in the hallmarks of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were assessed to evaluate SHP2 function. SHP2 activity in oral cancer cells was reduced using si-RNA knockdown or enforced expression of a catalytically deficient mutant to analyze migratory and invasive ability in vitro and metastasis toward the lung in mice in vivo. RESULTS: We observed the significant upregulation of SHP2 in oral cancer tissues and cell lines. Following SHP2 knockdown, the oral cancer cells markedly attenuated migratory and invasion ability. We observed similar results in phosphatase-dead SHP2 C459S mutant expressing cells. Enhanced invasiveness was associated with significant upregulation of E-cadherin, vimentin, Snail/Twist1, and matrix metalloproteinase-2 in the highly invasive clones. In addition, we determined that SHP2 activity is required for the downregulation of phosphorylated ERK1/2, which modulates the downstream effectors, Snail and Twist1 at a transcript level. In lung tissue sections of mice, we observed that HSC3 tumors with SHP2 deletion exhibited significantly reduced metastatic capacity, compared with tumors administered control si-RNA. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that SHP2 promotes the invasion and metastasis of oral cancer cells. These results provide a rationale for further investigating the effects of small-molecule SHP2 inhibitors on the progression of oral cancer, and indicate a previously unrecognized SHP2-ERK1/2-Snail/Twist1 pathway that is likely to play a crucial role in oral cancer invasion and metastasis

Prevalence and Correlates of Depression among Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Taiwan

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive disease that causes a permanent impairment of renal function and premature mortality. The associated prognosis may result in serious psychological distress to the affected individual. However, there are limited data on the psychological correlates, and in particular depression, in Chinese CKD patients. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of depression, as well as the influence of other psychosocial factors on depression, among Taiwanese CKD patients. Methods: We used a cross-sectional research design to recruit 270 CKD patients who were not undergoing dialysis treatment at a hospital in southern Taiwan during 2011. The structured questionnaire used in this study gathered information on respondent demographic and disease characteristics, and information obtained from the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire. Factors associated with depression were examined by a multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The crude and age-standardized prevalence of depression were 22.6% and 20.6%, respectively. Those who had sleep disturbances, reported having no religious beliefs, followed no regular exercise regimen, and were diagnosed with stage III or above CKD demonstrated a significantly higher risk of depression. Conclusion: Our findings are beneficial to healthcare providers, as they identify both the prevalence of depression and several of its correlates. By identifying CKD patients with a higher risk of depression, healthcare providers may be better able to ensure the provision of appropriate rehabilitation to this population

Synthesis of Molecularly Imprinted Polymerand its Molecular Recognition Propertiesof N

A molecular imprinting technique was applied in this work to detect N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and its analogue structure. Twomolecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) were prepared using Neu 5Ac as the template molecule, as well as methacrylic acid (MAA) or 4-vinylpyridine (4-Vpy) and ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the functionalmonomer and cross-linker, respectively. Free radical polymerization was carried out at 4°C under UV radiation or thermal (60°C) polymerization. MIP thus obtained were ground into 11∼25µm and 25-44µm. The binding results from Neu5Ac solution, mannose (Man) solution and N-acetyl-Dmannosamine (ManNAc) solution performed by Neu5Ac-MIP showed specific binding toward Neu5Ac rather than other analogue compounds on the host-guest system. The values of capacity for Neu5Ac-MIP were measured and experimental results were further used for simulation to obtain the binding isotherms. The principal advantage of this method is thatNeu5Ac- MIP can recognize Neu5Ac and its analogue compounds

Compressing a Cylindrical Shell with a Rigid Core

Compressed cylindrical shells are common in our daily life, such as the diamond shape in rolled-up sleeves, crumpled aluminum cans, and retreated package of now defunct drinking straws. The kind of deformation is formally called the Yoshimura pattern. However, there are many other equally prevalent modes of deformation, depending on the relative size of radius between the shell and its inner core, the thickness and rigidity and plasticity of the shell, etc. To elucidate the phase diagram for these modes, we combine molecular dynamics simulations and experiments to study the energetic, mechanical, and morphological responses of a compressed cylindrical shell with a hard core

Study on the Correlation between Objective Evaluations and Subjective Speech Quality and Intelligibility

Subjective tests are the gold standard for evaluating speech quality and intelligibility, but they are time-consuming and expensive. Thus, objective measures that align with human perceptions are crucial. This study evaluates the correlation between commonly used objective measures and subjective speech quality and intelligibility using a Chinese speech dataset. Moreover, new objective measures are proposed combining current objective measures using deep learning techniques to predict subjective quality and intelligibility. The proposed deep learning model reduces the amount of training data without significantly impacting prediction performance. We interpret the deep learning model to understand how objective measures reflect subjective quality and intelligibility. We also explore the impact of including subjective speech quality ratings on speech intelligibility prediction. Our findings offer valuable insights into the relationship between objective measures and human perceptions

Influences of sea water on the ethylene-biosynthesis, senescence-associated gene expressions, and antioxidant characteristics of Arabidopsis plants

We evaluated the physiological and antioxidant characteristics of Arabidopsis thaliana (At) plants grown in different sea water (SW) products containing trace elements, namely RO3, 300K, and 340K, at various dilutions. The synthetic water (namely 300K-Test), a mixture of the main ions of SW including 143.08 mg L-1 Mg2+, 5.74 mg L-1 Na+, 170 mg L-1 K+, and 33.5 mg L-1 Ca2+ with equal concentrations to those in 300K SW without trace elements, was also used to culture At plants and study the influences that the major ions had on regulating ethylene production. The ethylene-biosynthesis (ACS7 and ACO2) and senescence-associated (NAP, SAG113, and WRKY6) gene expressions in SW- and ionic-treated At plants in response to transcriptional signaling pathways of ethylene response mechanisms were also investigated. Our results show that down-regulation of the ACS7 gene in 300K-treated plants significantly reduced the ethylene content but remarkably increased chlorophyll, total phenol, and DPPH radical scavenging accumulations and strengthened the salt tolerance of 300K-treated plants. The expression of the ACS7 gene of At plants under 300K, Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+ treatments was correlated with decreases in NAP, SAG113, and WRKY6 gene expressions. The application of Ca2+ increased total phenol content and reduced the accumulation of superoxide, which in combination decreases plant aging brought on by ethylene. However, K+ treatment inhibited SGA113 gene expression, resulting in reducing ACS7 gene expression and ethylene content. The characterization and functional analysis of these genes should facilitate our understanding of ethylene response mechanisms in plants