Expressive speech synthesis from Broadcast News

Speech Synthesis is the computer process of converting text to voice. This project consists in the synthesis of voices that can tell news with an appropriate expression, since it is important to achieve expressiveness on the generated speech in order to obtain natural sounding voices. Conventional Speech Synthesis systems use as training data audios signals, specifically recorded for voice models training. Nevertheless, in this project the data was obtained from a news TV station, in order to test a different database in the speech synthesis. An important part of the work done in this TFG has been preparing data later used in synthesis. The audio and its transcriptions were labeled so as to differentiate the expressions recorded: explaining good or bad news, or talking about relevant or trivial topics. A phonetic segmentation of the database was obtained in order to create the models used in the speech synthesis. After preparing all the audio and transcriptions data, statistical-parametric models were estimated and used to synthesize test voices, in order to evaluate the previous setup work. All the project has been developed in a Linux environment, using Ogmios, AHOCoder and HTS-toolkit as main software. The results obtained after synthesizing the voices shows that the data preparation process is correct, but the voices synthesized had not the enough quality. This is due to the adaptation of the voices towards heterogeneous samples, originated by the amount of different speakers used to train the models.La síntesis de voz es el proceso informático mediante el cual se transforma texto a voz. Este proyecto consiste en la síntesis de voces que puedan explicar notícias con una expresión adecuada, ya que es importante obtener expresividad en el habla generada para poder generar voces con naturalidad expresiva. Los sistemas de síntesis del habla convencionales utilizan como datos de entrenamiento voces grabadas expresamente para el entrenamiento de los modelos. No obstante, en este proyecto se ha creado una base de datos a partir de unas grabaciones de un canal de televisión especializado en noticias, ya que se queria probar la síntesis de voz con una base de datos diferente. Una parte importante del trabajo llevado a cabo en este TFG ha sido la preparación de los datos utilizados en la grabación. Las grabaciones y sus transcripciones se etiquetaron con la intención de diferenciar las expresiones grabadas: explicando buenas o malas noticias, o hablando de temas relevantes o triviales. Se ha obtenido una segmentación de la base de datos con tal de crear los modelos utilizados en la síntesis del habla. Una vez preparados los audios y sus respectivas transcripciones, se estimaron los modelos estadístico-paramétricos y se utilizaron para sintetizar las voces de prueba, con el objetivo de evaluar el trabajo de preparación anterior. Todo el proyecto se ha realizado en un entorno Linux, utilizando \emph{Ogmios}, \emph{AHOCoder} y HTS-toolkit como software principal. Los resultados obtenidos después de la síntesis muestran que la preparación de los datos es correcta, pero las voces sintetizadas no tenian la calidad suficiente. Esto se debe a la adaptación de las voces a partir de una base de datos muy heterogénea, debido a la cantidad de hablantes diferentes contemplados en el entrenamiento de los modelos.La síntesi de veu es el procés informàtic que transforma text a veu. Aquest projecte consisteix en la sínteis de veus que poden explicar notícies amb una expressió adient, ja que és important obtenir expressivitat en la parla generada per tal d'obtenir veus amb naturalitat expressiva. Els sistemes de síntesis de la parla convencionals utilitzen com a dades d'entrenament veus gravades expressament pel entrenament dels models. No obstant, en aquest projecte s'ha creat una base de dades a partir d'unes gravacions d'un canal de televisió especialitzat en notícies, ja que es volia provar a sintetizar veu amb una base de dades diferent. Una part important del treball dut a terme en aquest TFG ha sigut preparar les dades desp?es utilitzades en l'entrenament. Les gravacions i les seves transcripcions van ser etiquetades amb la intenció de diferenciar les epxressions gravades: explicant males o bones notícies, o parlant de temes rellevants o trivials. S'ha obtingut una segmentació de la base de dades per tal de crear els models utilitzats en la síntesi de la parla. Una vegada preparat els audios i les seves transcripcions, es van estimar models estadístic-paramètrics i es van utilitzar per sintetizar les veu de prova, amb l'objectiu de evaluar el treball de preparació anterior. Tot el projecte s'ha realitzat en un entorn Linux, fent servir \emph{Ogmios}, \emph{AHOCoder} i HTS-toolkit com a software principal. Els resultats obtinguts desprès de la síntesi mostren que la preparació de les dades es correcta, però les veus sintetitzades no teníen qualitat suficient. Això es deu a l'adaptacio de les veus a partir d'una base de dades molt heterogènia, degut a la quantitat de parlants diferents contemplats en l'entrenament dels models

El ensayo inédito sobre la vacuna de Ignacio María Ruiz de Luzuriaga (1763-1822)

El contenido del conjunto documental conocido como «Papeles sobre la vacuna» archivado en la Real Academia Nacional de Medicina y generado por Ignacio María Ruiz de Luzuriaga (1763-1822) no ha sido estudiado hasta la fecha de forma exhaustiva. Como parte de una amplia investigación sobre estos manuscritos se describe el hallazgo de un texto inédito producido en 1801 por Ruiz de Luzuriaga que, con forma de ensayo, pretendía recopilar los conocimientos sobre el método vacunal sugerido por Edward Jenner durante los inicios de su introducción en España. Su objetivo era establecer un corpus científico y académico sobre la vacuna que facilitara su comprensión, asimilación y buena práctica entre los vacunadores españoles. El texto, contenido en el volumen 3 de los «Papeles», fue consecutivo a otros dos inmediatamente anteriores, la «Carta a D. Luis» y el «Informe imparcial sobre la vacuna». Este estudio analiza el origen y destinatarios de los tres textos, revelando la identidad de «D. Luis» y describiendo los contenidos del «Ensayo», documento hasta ahora desconocido y en el que destaca por su valor historiográfico la primera traducción al español del «Inquiry» de Jenner, realizada por Ruiz de Luzuriaga.Este trabajo se inscribe en el marco del proyecto de investigación «Los papeles sobre la vacuna» que ha recibido financiación de la Fundación Española de Vacunología (FEV1-11PA)

Cartas de Balmis a Gutiérrez: la fractura de la amistad entre dos expedicionarios de la vacuna

The Royal Philanthropic Vaccine Expedition (1803-1813) becomes relevant in these pandemic times due to the breadth of its geographical dimension and its nature of a health expedition inspired by a pioneering public health objective of its time: to spread the newly discovered vaccine against smallpox. Undertaken by a small number of participants, the expedition was directed by Francisco Xavier Balmis, who was accompanied, among others, by Antonio Gutiérrez Robredo, his favorite disciple. This research, carried out using primary sources, explores the relationship between both, which went from mutual trust to enmity due to a trivial conflict. The study of previous correspondence and late resolution of the lawsuit filed by Balmis against Gutiérrez allows us to delve into their biographical profiles. As a direct consequence of that litigation, Gutiérrez never went back to Spain, although he became a professor in Mexico; in contrast, Balmis enjoyed honors and recognition in Madrid.En estos tiempos de pandemia, la Real Expedición Filantrópica de la Vacuna (1803-1813) cobra vigencia por la amplitud de su dimensión geográfica y por su carácter de expedición sanitaria inspirada en un objetivo de salud pública pionero en su época: propagar la recién descubierta vacuna contra la viruela. Acometida por un reducido número de expedicionarios, fue dirigida por Francisco Xavier Balmis, a quien acompañaba, entre otros, Antonio Gutiérrez Robredo, su discípulo predilecto. Esta investigación, realizada con fuentes primarias, explora la relación entre ambos, la cual pasó de la mutua confianza a la enemistad debido a un conflicto nimio. El estudio de la correspondencia previa y la tardía resolución del pleito interpuesto por Balmis contra Gutiérrez permite ahondar en sus perfiles biográficos. Como consecuencia directa de aquel litigio, Gutiérrez nunca retornó a España, aunque llegó a ser catedrático en México; por el contrario, Balmis disfrutó honores y reconocimientos en Madrid

Vacuum energy and cosmological inflation

Treballs Finals de Grau de Física, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2022, Tutor: Joan Solà PeracaulaWe study the cosmic evolution from the perspective of the Running Vacuum Models, in which the vacuum energy density is dynamic throughout the cosmic history. In this context, we find that there is an initial period of inflation, in which the vacuum decays into radiation and there is a huge entropy production. In contrast to the standard inflaton-based mechanism of inflation, there is a smooth transition between this period and the standard ΛCDM radiation epoch. We also test the model against the Generalised Second Law, finding it is fulfilled in the current universe but not in the early stages. This is a welcome feature, however, as it may provide a possible solution to both the entropy and horizon problems, in a context where the eventual thermodynamic equilibrium of the universe is not jeopardise

Stochastic inflation in the Constant Roll regime

Màster Oficial d'Astrofísica, Física de Partícules i Cosmologia, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona. Curs: 2022-2023. Tutor: Cristiano GermaniWe investigate the inhomogeneities generated during the inflationary epoch from the point of view of the stochastic formalism, which attempts to transform a problem of quantum fluctuations into a statistical one. The formalism, that we derive in the text, is based on the use of the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) equations, which are convenient to describe inhomogeneities in the context of inflation, as well as gradient expansion, which works at zeroth order in spatial gradients but at all orders in the amplitudes of the fluctuations, and is therefore intended to capture non-perturbative effects. Finally, the perturbations are split into long- and short-wavelength modes, where the latter act as a stochastic noise for the former when crossing a certain scale. We demonstrate that the use of certain approximations in the derivation of this formalism, which are intended to make the system of stochastic differential equations (SDEs) Markovian and described with white noises, causes the method to become restricted to the reproduction of Linear Perturbation Theory (LPT). This framework, nonetheless, is still useful since it can be used as a test for the validity of the linear approximation, signalling the coming into play of non-perturbative effects. Specifically, we solve the system of SDEs numerically for the Constant Roll (CR) inflationary scenario, and show that this regime is in accordance with LPT

NO-DO (1943-1975). La difusión de la ciencia como instrumento legitimador del régimen franquista: la poliomielitis y otras enfermedades inmunoprevenibles

The official NO-DO newsreels were screened in Spain on a weekly basis from 1943 to 1981. These official news and documentary programmes were compulsory in cinemas from the moment they were first produced until the end of the Francoist dictatorship (1975). NO-DO held an information monopoly and was used as the regime's propaganda tool to indoctrinate the population, building stories tailored to the regime's interests and masking social realities. In this study, we examined newsreels on medical subjects relating to diseases preventable by vaccination. A majority of reports centred on poliomyelitis, and two differentiated periods could be defined, coinciding with the development of Franco regime's foreign policy. Further, from the gender perspective, we analyse the female stereotypes in the battle against vaccine preventable diseases Therefore, the news coverage of polio is of special relevance. In conclusion, this topic offers a good opportunity to reflect on the political role of popular science and science communication in a specific historical context.Desde 1943 hasta 1981 se proyectó en España el noticiero semanal NO-DO, que tuvo carácter oficial y fue de obligada proyección en las salas cinematográficas desde su creación hasta el final de la dictadura franquista (1975). NO-DO ejerció el monopolio de la información y fue utilizado como instrumento de propaganda del régimen para adoctrinar a la población, construyendo un relato a la medida de sus intereses y ocultando la realidad social. Este trabajo estudia las noticias proyectadas de contenido médico relacionadas con las enfermedades prevenibles por vacunación. La poliomielitis ocupa la mayoría de los reportajes publicados, en dos periodos bien diferenciados, coincidiendo con la evolución de la política exterior del régimen franquista. Además, desde una perspectiva de género, se analizan los estereotipos femeninos existentes en la lucha contra dichas enfermedades. En conclusión, este tema ofrece una buena oportunidad para reflexionar sobre el papel político de la ciencia popular y la comunicación científica en un contexto histórico determinado

Predictive Modeling of Seasonal Mosquito Population Patterns with Neural Networks

Mosquito species are considered important vectors of many diseases in humans, companion animals, and livestock. There is a great need to understand their dynamics and to develop methods for predicting their abundances. However, the population dynamics of mosquitoes are often complex displaying non-linear dynamics and thus, making it difficult to be modeled using linear statistical approaches. In this project, we explored the seasonal population patterns of mosquito populations in a Mediterranean environment in Northern Greece using straightforward machine learning techniques such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). To train, validate and test the network model we have used 2 years weekly counts of adult mosquito data including Culex sp., a major vector of the West Nile virus and related encephalitis diseases. The model training was performed in an open-loop (i.e., parallel series network architecture), including the validation and testing step and later on, after training, it was transformed to a closed-loop for the needs of a multistep-ahead mosquito abundance prediction. Determined by the autocorrelation function, one of the final models is using as inputs one week lagged values of mosquito abundances and was able to capture the adult seasonal mosquito patterns in most cases at acceptable levels. We conclude that ANNs suggest an important candidate for modeling and predicting the seasonal abundance of mosquito data since it is suitable for modeling noisy and incomplete ecological data, with no specific assumptions to be made about the underlying relationships and which are solely determined through data mining. However, we are also looking forward to improving the particular model performance using new data sets since it is of fundamental importance to choose an appropriate training set size and to provide representative coverage of all possible conditions to capture accurately the patterns of ecological time series. Nevertheless, despite the limitations of the current study, this work contributes to knowledge of the seasonal functioning of arthropod vector dynamics and contributes towards the development of decision tools to be used in the preventive management of the transmission cycle of vector-borne diseases

High cooking skills do not lead to healthy mediterranean eating habits. Focus on catering students

The lack of human nutrition and dietetics knowledge may have a detrimental effect on the eating habits of catering students. The purpose of the study was to assess the adherence to the Mediterranean Diet of catering students. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out. 108 catering students completed the KIDMED questionnaire. The mean score and the confidence intervals were calculated. A Student’s t-test was used to evaluate the differences for sex and year of study. For each answer, the odds ratio by logistic regression adjusting for sex and year of study were calculated. The students had inadequate fruit and vegetables intake. Despite the catering students had high cooking skills, findings revealed a moderate adherence to the Mediterranean Diet. Results and claims suggest that catering students would benefit from studying nutrition and dietetics subject. The cooking skills are probably a tiny part of the tools and knowledge necessary to have a good adherence to the Mediterranean Diet. This work recommends the incorporation of nutrition and dietetics subject in catering degrees